Concert Review: The Lemonheads at the Wilbur Theater in Boston, MA!

Joanna Gleason
Dec 1
3 min read

On November 26, 2025, The Lemonheads performed at The Wilbur Theatre in Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Hundreds of fans attended the concert, and I was excited to see the Lemonheads as I had heard a lot of good things about their music. The Wilbur Theatre is a historic Boston Theatre which originally opened in 1914 and has great sounds and lights. The Lemonheads play their own form of punk influenced rock with a melodic tinge and they are good at it.

The show started at 8:00 p.m. with special guest Erin Rae. An American folk pop musician from Nashville, Tennessee, Rae gave a terrific performance. The audience loved her music anchored by the steady strum of an acoustic guitar. The songs themselves rustle up comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.

A singer/songwriter, Erin Rae began her career as a musician in 2012 with the release of an EP titled Crazy Talk. In 2015, she released her debut full length album with the Meanwhiles title Soon Enough. Erin Rae's second full-length album, Putting On Airs, was released in June 2018. Her third full-length album, Lighten Up was released in February 2022, followed by a live album, Lighten Up & Try: Live From The Heart, in August 2023. She was featured on Tyler Childers' album, Rustin' in the Rain, released in September 2023.

At The Wilbur Theatre, Erin Rae played several songs that pleased the audience such as Lighten Up & Try, Bad Mind, Putting on Airs, By Nature, Love Like Before, Can't Cut Loose, Wild Blue Wind, Run Away, etc.

At 9:15 p.m. after a short break, The Lemonheads hit the stage. The concert was organized in support of their new album, Love Chant, which is their first new album of original material since 2006. A bold, melodic reaffirmation of Evan Dando’s singular songwriting voice, the album was recorded primarily in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new album features contributions from J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Juliana Hatfield, Tom Morgan, Bryce Goggin, Erin Rae, and Nick Salomon of The Bevis Frond.

At The Wilbur, the audience was very attentive and skeptical. People did not know what to expect. Many people who attended the event were curious to see the new line up as Evan Dando remained the band's only constant member. Over the course of 11 albums across nearly four decades, The Lemonheads lineup has changed from one album to the next.

Talking to someone about his expectation from the performance, he said:" Sometimes they are great, other times they are not so great. That means something happens sometimes, and then on different occasions, it happens differently."

The Lemonheads were terrific. Their music was great to hear. Performed with lots of emotion. The group that left a mark on the alternative rock scene, particularly in the 90s, has proved why in the past they have been recognized as one of the most successful rock bands in Massachusetts.

From songs to songs, it was a great night of music with the concert ending with Dando alone singing "Frank Mills" without amplification in the audience and then back onstage in front of the microphone slapping his hands against his mouth for a low-fi watery effect.

For all intents and purposes, Evan Dando is The Lemonheads. He still remains today a constant member of the band that made 1987's "Hate Your Friends" to the one that made 1992's star-making "It's a Shame About Ray" and the one that made last month's "Love Chant."