Singer, guitarist, pianist, and newfound harmonium player Shawn Mendes closed out his intimate For Friends and Family Only Tour on Nov. 25 in his hometown of Toronto, playing the historic Massey Hall, a dream venue for most artists who grew up here. The 130-year-old, three-level theater with its iconic giant red doors and red upholstered seats has hosted shows by Neil Young, Bob Dylan, U2, and Rush, but Mendes, 26 — born just outside Toronto in Pickering and now living in a downtown condo — skipped more than a few stepping stones in his meteoric rise to stadium status, Massey being one of them.
After signing a record deal at 15, he headlined his first big local show in 2014 at the 1500-capacity Danforth Music Hall. The following year, Taylor Swift invited him to be the support act on the 1989 World Tour; when it was done, he was ready for arenas. He sold out the Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena) once in 2016 and twice in 2017, back-to-back, then in 2019 headlined his first-ever stadium, in Toronto no less, at Rogers Centre. That is heady stuff for a young person.
In 2022, Mendes shocked his fans by cancelling his world tour just seven shows in. He needed a break for his own well-being, he announced. Last summer, he made his return onstage in Toronto as the surprise guest of Ed Sheeran, joining him for a couple of songs at the first of two Rogers Centre shows. Was he back for good?
Out of the spotlight, Mendes started work on a new album, his fifth, Shawn, which dug deep lyrically, revealing a vulnerable side of the singer and a mature sound that delved into a rootsy folk sound, in addition to the expected pop-rock. He then decided to ease back into public life by playing 2,000- to 3,000-capacity rooms around the world. He called it the For Friends and Family Only Tour.(There’s also a concert film, shot at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, New York, available to stream on Veeps.com). The setlist has remained consistent, focusing on the songs on Shawn plus “a couple oldies,” as he referred to them at Massey, such as “Stitches,” “Nothing Holding Me Back,” “In My Blood,” and “It’ll Be Okay.”
“Man, I’m so happy to be home right now,” he told the crowd of 2,750, with the floor seats retracted under the stage to accommodate a packed standing area. “Today is a special night for so many reasons. This is the last show of the Friends and Family shows, and this is the true friends and family show. I’m not kidding — probably half of this venue right now is my actual blood family.”
He added: “It’s also special just because we’ve been traveling across the world playing these songs, and every night I get on stage and I say, ‘Damn, it’s a shame you guys don’t know these songs, but thank you for coming anyway.’” Things felt different after the Nov. 15 release of Shawn, he explained: “Tonight, this is the first night the album has been out, so maybe you guys know it. We’re going to play the album, and I think just because we’re home, we’re probably going to be a little bit looser. It might be a little messy.”
It wasn’t messy, actually; more intuitive, with a band of crack musicians, who are also his friends, including Shawn co-writers/producers Mike Sabath and Eddie Benjamin, who joined him on several new songs. The crowd did know every song, singing along, loudly, to many of them, especially when encouraged.
“I just want to tell you guys,” Mendes said,” before we got here, we were back in my condo, and I was just absolutely sobbing because the year I’ve had with these two, and, honestly, everyone behind these curtains that you don’t see — the whole team, the whole family — the way that they have supported me, and the way that we’ve been as a family together, has just been the most beautiful year of my life.”
Without a doubt, the evening’s most powerful moment came when Mendes introduced his new single, “Heart of Gold.” He has told the story before on this tour. It’s about a friend he had around age 12. They hung out all the time, but after he got signed and went on tour, they lost touch. When he was 18, that friend, Deijomi, died in his sleep. Mendes was on tour and said he was so shocked, he couldn’t process it.
Eight or nine months ago, he was reminded of his old friend. He couldn’t remember because he had blocked it out — “unprocessed grief,” he calls it. “We spent two days deeply talking about time with him and this song came out of it,” Mendes said.
As he continued the story, he talked about how he always envisioned that as he performed the song, a golden light would emit from the crowd singing it and shine up to him. “Tonight is even more special because…” He stopped, and looked up, getting choked up. He brought the mic back up, his voice quivering. “Tonight’s even more special because his mama is here with us tonight — and his friends, they’re here tonight, so this is a big one.”
He asked the crowd to sing it loud so Deijomi could hear it, and, in another moment his mother will surely never forget, Mendes said, “The greatest gift that Deijomi has given me is that he’s taught me the power of grief, and celebrating the life of someone you love.” Many of the fans on the floor held up signs and put their phone flashlights on.
Mendes also performed “Hallelujah” by fellow Canadian Leonard Cohen — a song that he covered on Shawn — at the harmonium, telling the crowd that he’s really into the Indian devotional music kirtan right now. He proceeded to freestyle an angelic-sounding chant.
In the encore, he sat at the keys and said it would “feel wrong not to play it,” before launching into “In My Blood.” He then stood up and rocked out with the band, thrusting his hand in the air at points, while playing guitar. He relished in holding out the mic and soaking in the whole of Massey Hall singing along, and got everyone to clap. Suddenly, he took off the guitar and in-ears, and jumped into the crowd, walking along the edge to everyone’s delight. He capped the 90-minute set with “I’ll Be Okay.” After taking time for himself, it seems he will be.
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