Best friends and pop music duo Jack & Jack brought their No Place Like Home Tour to Bottom Lounge in Chicago. The tour acts as a homecoming for the boys, being their first tour since pre-pandemic. 

J&J’s shows have always been community based for fans, the two Jacks getting their start in early 2013’s Meet and Greet Convention, AKA Magcon - a convention and show for fans to meet their favorite boys from Vine. Since then, Jack & Jack have brought their fan community and even some old friends from the convention to their tour. 

Sammy Wilk, longtime friend and collaborator, was brought on as an opener for the tour, playing both throwbacks and newer songs he dropped earlier this year. DJ Rupp also opened the night with a DJ set of Y2K throwbacks to get the crowd ready for the night to come. 

The main act of the night, Jack & Jack, made up of Jack Johnson and Jack Gilinsky, brought Bottom Lounge down with a mix of new work, fan favorites, and throwbacks. Gilinsky opened their set on an emotional note, with track 1 off their new album, Home, “Thought I was Dead.” However, the energy was immediately at a high when Johnson made his entrance for single “Stuttering.” The fans packed into the pit didn’t miss a lyric of the songs from the new album, which came out not even a month ago.

After hyping up the crowd, the duo mellowed out the crowd with an acoustic set featuring reworks of some of their electronic hits, including “Rise,” a collaboration with DJ Jonas Blue. The acoustic portion of the night closed with title track off the new album Home, an emotional ballad about finding your way back to the one you love. Galinsky was teary-eyed during the song, as fans organized a fan project holding up signs for the boys that says “You are our home.” 

Following the emotional moment, J&J brought the energy back up with a 12 song medley featuring songs from the 2013-2015 magcon days, challenging the audience to see if they remember the words. The medley included the entirety of their first EP “Calibraska,” and fan favorite classics “Flights,” “Groove,” “Tides,” and “Wild Life,” which propelled the boys to where they are today. The crowd didn’t miss a beat.

To close out the set the boys brought out Sammy Wilk and collaborator Sk8 for their viral hit “Like That.” For old and new fans alike, it was like coming home after spending ten years supporting the boys, and a nostalgia trip back to the Vine era.

The No Place Like Home Tour closes tomorrow in Jack & Jack’s hometown Nebraska, but they’re already teasing they’ll be back next year. Make sure to stream the new project, Home, which features the Jack’s version of “Like That,” finally available to stream.

Article and Photo Gallery by Mollie Menuck