Clouds part for Jason Mraz show in Columbia

Jason Mraz and his “Great Band” graced the stage of Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, MD on Saturday, September 24. Supported by Colbie Caillat, attendees were treated to an entertaining evening full of good music.

Having been drenched by rain for the better part of the week, Mraz fans were holding their breath in the hopes that the break from the rain would last through the night. The weather held out and the folks on the lawn stayed dry and the crowd enjoyed what turned out to be perfect weather for an outdoor concert.

Colbie Caillat breezed onto the stage to warm up the crowd in a subtly sexy black dress and an even sexier vocal tone. She started her set with the acoustic “Realize” from her first album Coco. Including new single “Brighter Than the Sun” and her breakthrough hit “Bubbly,” Caillat left the crowd excited and anticipating their headliner for the evening.

Mraz started his headlining set with an impressive cover of an old favorite, “Pennies From Heaven.” The song not only highlighted Mraz’s vocal talents but also the talents of his Great Band including a horn section and three different percussionists to name a few. The set list for the evening included many Mraz favorites as well as samples of some brand new songs from his forthcoming album.

Along with Mraz’ own songs such as “Remedy (I Won’t Worry)” and a beautiful acoustic rendition of “You and I Both” he also filled in his set with impressive covers including “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Silly Love Songs.” At one point in the evening Mraz shared that he would be performing his “favorite song” and the first song he’d ever learned then proceeded to perform “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood to a laughing crowd.

At the end of the night the audience was witness to the rare treat of Mraz closing the show alongside Caillat performing their song “Lucky.” It was about two hours after its start that Mraz returned to the stage for his encore that included crowd favorites “Butterfly” and “I’m Yours.”

For a slideshow of photos from the show please visit the Baltimore Concert Photography Examiner.