After the release of grentperez’s debut album Backflips in a Restaurant back in March of this year, and with the announcement of a North American tour to correspond with the album, fans were ecstatic! So much so that they added additional nights to the tour, including a stop at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Downtown Riverside on April 25, along with Rocco coming along as support!

First up, Rocco took the stage to immense cheering and constant chanting from fans, with the words “Rocco! Rocco! Rocco!” filling the room. The set kicked off with crazy guitar riffs that had the crowd screaming and thrashing around. Towards the end of their set, they played a cover of “No One Noticed” by The Marías, and the audience sang along to it.

During the downtime between sets, the stage was transformed into a fancy romantic restaurant setting, complete with a dinner table, foliage, and a custom neon sign reading “G’s Bar & Grill.”

It was finally time for the main act. As the lights dimmed and music began to play, grentperez himself emerged on stage and kicked off his set with a song off his new album, “Headspace,” feeding off the crowd’s energy.

After the opening song, Grent took the time to thank the audience for attending that night and introduced his touring band: Ichi Tanabe on drums, and Timi Temple on bass and violin. They were all dressed to fit the theme of a fancy restaurant, with Ichi as a waiter, Timi as the chef, and Grent as the manager of G’s Bar & Grill. Grent proceeded to grab a guitar and continued the performance with “Why I Love You.”

Partway through the set, Grent invited two random audience members to come up on stage and sit at the fancy dinner table within the restaurant setting. G’s Bar & Grill even featured live entertainment, with Grent and Timi performing an acoustic version of “Yours To Keep” just for them. They thanked their guests, Bonnie and Lauren, and continued on with the show!

After a couple more songs, Grent started talking to Timi onstage about how he was craving a special drink. Immediately, the crowd knew where this was heading and erupted in cheers. Suddenly, Diego, one of the waiters of the night, came out with two glasses of cherry wine. But right before he could hand them over, he accidentally tipped one over and spilled it all over the stage. Everyone got a good laugh out of it. Grent said it was time to lock in, and they all began to play his biggest hit, “Cherry Wine.” The crowd went feral, singing along to every word, with the chorus echoing through the venue.

Grent Perez closed out the night in Riverside with a powerful encore, performing “Silver Lining” and “When the Day Is Done” to an ecstatic crowd. Fans who had been singing along all night went all out one last time. Thrilled to hear the new songs from Backflips in a Restaurant live, the audience let everyone know from the chanting and singing from start to finish.

You can view more photos from the show on our Flickr page!