On November 8th, I saw Kris Allen at the Vogue Theatre. The last time Kris played Vancouver was back in 2009 for the American Idol Tour at Rogers Arena, just fresh off of his victorious Idol win during Season 8. Five years later, the indie singer/songwriter returns as the special guest on YouTube sensation Boyce Avenue‘s No Limits Tour, in support of his new album, Horizons.

During his 45-minute set, Kris performed tracks from his last three albums along with popular pop song covers, including Out Alive / Young Love (Paul Simon), Better With You, Beautiful and Wild, Chandelier (Sia) / Stay With Me (Sam Smith), Monster / Rude (MAGIC!), Everybody Just Wants To Dance / I Want You Back (Jackson 5), and Live Like We’re Dying. For a taste of his show, check out my video snippets of his performances on YouTube, along with his drop-dead stunning mash-up of Chandelier and Stay With Me. Prepare to be amazed by Mr. Allen’s infectious energy and incredible voice (and to feel compelled to catch him live as soon as humanly possible).

Right after Boyce Avenue’s awesome set, I joined a small group of VIP guests and World Vision (an organization Kris is heavily involved with) sponsors for a green room meet and greet. Kris was an excellent host, warmly greeting each and every person like you would an old friend, treating us to a beautiful acoustic performance of “In Time”, and answering some burning questions during a Q&A session. Then came time for the autograph/photo/chitchat portion of the meet and greet experience, and he happily fulfilled his fans’ requests, from autographing CDs and shirts and to taking fun selfies. Kris is just as friendly, charming, and kind as you’d imagine him to be, which was the cherry on top of an already amazing concert experience.

I also had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Curtis Peoples, who is the opening act of the No Limits Tour. I was introduced to his music years ago through his association with one of my favourite artists, Tyler Hilton, and have always dug his work. To kick off the night, he performed songs from his new album, The Fight, and did a killer cover of *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye”. It’s safe to say that I’ll definitely be catching another show from Curtis whenever he returns to Vancouver!

Download Kris Allen’s Horizons and Curtis Peoples’ The Fight on iTunes. Catch the Boyce Avenue No Limits Tour during their remaining stops in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida (see dates here). Get Kris Allen VIP upgrades on Kris Allen Official.