GALLERY: JAWNY
CARRBORO, NC | APRIL 3, 2023 | BY ISAIAH PATE
“I’m not coming out unless you sing every single word of this fucking song!” says sternly by JAWNY (previously known as Johnny Utah) somewhere backstage as the speakers begin filling the room with the 2003 hit single ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers. The crowd followed through and belted out every single lyric with extreme eagerness, passion, and backed up with some old infamous teenage angst.
Shortly after, the ‘intro’ song from his newest record ‘It’s Never Fair, Always True’ gradually takes over and introduces JAWNY and his bandmates to a sold out Cat’s Cradle. He wasted no time diving into his star pieces ‘strawberry chainsaw’, ‘adios’, and ‘take it back’ (my personal favorite), all while being the perfect people pleaser; sharing bits of his time spent in north carolina in his earlier life, wave coastering with the crowd, and serenading fans with a Taylor Swift cover of ‘Belong With Me’
Wrapping the night up with one of his biggest hits ‘Honeypie’ from his EP ‘For Abby’, light shows transformed the room, extending his setlist like never before, and a name chant to last a lifetime. I can proudly say that JAWNY is the hero the world has been waiting for, and he can save any regular day with just a single show per night.
