Jxdn ends “I Hope This Never Ends” tour with sold-out show at the Observatory
Review and photos by Sophia Fascenelli
Jxdn on stage (Photo: Sophia Fascenelli)
Pop-punk rocker Jxdn, known as Jaden Hossler, ended his “I Hope This Never Ends tour” with a sold-out show at the Observatory in Santa Ana, CA, on April 18, 2023, and wow, it was a performance many won’t forget.
After rising to fame on TikTok back in 2019, Jaden Hossler started his music career early in 2020 with the release of his first single, “Comatose.” Being signed by Travis Barker’s record label, DTA Records, the 22-year-old has made his way up the chain with his string of shows all over the country. Having the “I Hope This Never Ends” tour being his second tour, he started in February alongside his supporting act, Beauty School Dropout. Jxdn’s songs are full of raw emotion about his struggles with mental health and he isn't afraid to show it.
Having arrived an hour before the doors opened, I was surprised to see the line wrapped around the building into the street. Once I got in, I spoke with some fans that were at the barricade and they said they had been waiting since 7 a.m. to secure their perfect spot.
Jxdn’s supporting act, Beauty School Dropout, hit the stage around 8 o’clock. The Los Angeles-based rock band was a gigantic burst of energy from the moment they entered the stage. To my surprise, most of the fans in the venue were fans of BSD and sang alongside them for their 40-minute set. The band recently released their song “FREAK” ft. Jxdn in February. The band did a rock cover of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and towards the end of their set, they invited alt-electro-pop artist, Royal & the Serpent, to perform a song with them.
Beauty School Dropout performing (Photo: Sophia Fascenelli)
When 9 o’clock rolled around, Jxdn and his band fired out onto the stage, opening with “Friends with Benefits.” Jxdn’s crowd work was phenomenal. There was never a moment where he wasn't hyping up the crowd; making sure everyone was dancing, jumping, and having an all-around good time. During his 17-song set, he performed unreleased songs, impressively covered Coldplay’s, “Yellow” (his vocals are perfect for that song by the way), The Weeknd’s, “The Hills,” sang “FREAK” with Beauty School Dropout, and to everybody's surprise, brought out special surprise guest, Machine Gun Kelly, to perform “WANNA BE” together. Jaden and MGK have a history of friendship together, so it was nice to see them perform alongside each other. Jxdn sparked screams of excitement from the whole venue when he decided to perform his song “NO VANITY” for the first time on tour.
Something very important I noticed about Jaden is he was very aware of what was going on in the crowd and was quick to call out an attendee that was acting inappropriately. Everyone was there to have fun and he made sure no one would get hurt. His actions led to a newfound level of respect from me and other concertgoers.
Jxdn closed out the night performing his unreleased song, “Elevated Heartbreak.” The whole night was full of energy, never-ending singing from the crowd, good vibes, and surprises that left the audience in awe for the last night of the tour.
Jxdn and bassist Brent Burdett
Jxdn on stage
SETLIST
Friends with Benefits
DEAD OR ALIVE
DTA
BRAINDEAD
BETTER OFF DEAD
Yellow (Coldplay cover)
Pray
TELL ME ABOUT TOMORROW
ANGELS & DEMONS PT. 2
Taste Like Heaven
CRACK MY SKULL
The Hills (The Weeknd cover)
NO VANITY
FREAK (performed with BSD)
WANNA BE (performed with Machine Gun Kelly)
ANGELS & DEMONS
Elevated Heartbreak