BETHLEHEM, Pa. — It was a night of '90s nostalgia Friday when music groups Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra and Tonic took over Musikfest's main Steel Stage.
@sugarrayband brought the 90s back to @Musikfest @LVNewsdotcom pic.twitter.com/kasggWeJlH
— Micaela Hood (@micaelahood) August 3, 2024
During the three-hour show, the trio of bands performed their medley of hits, all the while seemingly grateful to be touring — yet again.
Tt was revealed mid-concert that Musikfest is the first leg of Sugar Ray, Better than Ezra and Tonic mini-tour.
Throughout each set, lead singers Emerson Hart of Tonic, Kevin Griffin of Better than Ezra and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray shared stories of their yesteryears.
Tonic, the first to play, warmed up the crowd with songs from its 1996 debut album, "Lemon Parade."
Midway, Emerson asked the audience to sing "Happy Birthday" to his son, Liam, who turned 4 and wasn't in attendance.
"Before I left [for tour] he asked me if I was going to sing and make people happy," Hart said.
Tonic closed out with 1996's top-charting hit "If You Could Only See."
Hart said that song, inspired by a love interest, came to be after a conversation with his mother, who told him not to rush into things.
"My mom was right," he said. "It was a disaster. But it doesn't matter, I chose love."
'Good evening neighbor'
The frontmen — all now in their 50s — reflected on fame that came at a time when MTV was considered cool and they could pack stadiums much larger than the SteelStacks.
"In the 90s, you had to play two radio festivals — the West Coast in Los Angeles, KROQ Weenie Roast, and Washington D.C. it was The HFStival, 88, 700 people, sold out," Griffin said before belting out the lyrics to 1996's "Desperately Wanting."
"Pearl Jam was on the bill, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hole, Bush, PJ Harvey, but only one band had the number song in the country."Kevin Griffin, lead singer Better Than Ezra
When Better Than Ezra performed the No. 1 hit "Good" on Friday, people cheered, but not quite as loudly as when Griffin effortlessly tackled an INXS cover of "Near Tear Us Apart."
The band finished its hourlong set with "Juicy," and added in a riff from the Rolling Stones' "Miss You," complete with Mick Jagger moves by the frontman.
It's not Better Than Ezra's first time at Musikfest.
The band opened up for Train in 2024 at the festival's 40th anniversary last year.
As a solo act, Griffin also played at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in 2016 and 2015, and at Wind Creek Event Center, with The Band of Merrymakers, also in 2015.
"If I'm not mistaken, by Pennsylvania commonwealth law we are residents now," Griffin said, jokingly. "Good evening neighbor."
'Last time we shared entertainment'
Sugar Ray's set, also 60 minutes, continued the trip down memory lane that started with a conversation about McGrath's hairstyle.
"I want to tell you how dedicated Sugar Ray is to the '90s," he told the audience. "I still have frosted [hair] tips. I've been wearing these for 30 years."
Hands were in the air as Sugar Ray continued the party with 1999's "Every Morning" and 2001's "When It's Over."
Before introducing another pre-Y2K hit, "Someday," McGrath reminded the crowd that the single only made it to the third spot on the Billboard Singles chart.
It was knocked down by Cher's "Believe" and TLC's "No Scrubs."
"I toured with Chili [from TLC] a few years ago and she said, "You know, Mark, we wrote 'No Scrubs about guys like you," McGrath jokingly said before breaking into a silly bit on Cher.
The '90s lovefest found its peak when Sugar Ray covered "All the Small Things" by Blink 182, circa 1999.
What has been your favorite part of @Musikfest so far? Had a blast seeing @betterthanezra pic.twitter.com/GZJQvCPylr
— Micaela Hood (@micaelahood) August 3, 2024
"What do you call the '90s?" McGrath said. "It was the last time we all shared entertainment together — meaning [MTV's "TRL" host] Carson Daly said, "Coming up next, the new video from 'N Sync, 'Bye, Bye, Bye.' And we loved it.
"'Seinfeld' was on at 9 o'clock on NBC, and Better Than Ezra were the best band in the world."
As 11 p.m. crept up Friday, the collective crowd, as if to say 'It ain't so' one last time, realized they were transported back to 2024.
"We've never been treated better," McGrath said. "The hospitality has never been sweeter and the kindness in the audience is never better."
