Jonas Brothers tell of humble Jersey roots at massive PruCenter homecoming concert

Chris Jordan, Asbury Park Press

They're from Little Falls and they had big dreams.

The Jonas Brothers made those dreams come true.

The story unfolded Dec. 6 at the band's nearly three-hour career-spanning homecoming concert delivered with moxie and heart at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Moxie as the three brothers — Nick, Kevin and Joe — took the stage with an 11-piece band and four backing singers. This was a big production with two stages, a mid-audience grounded catwalk, snow, confetti, pyrotechnics and lots of moving parts.

Heart as the band has a good-guy appeal. Joe apologized before he said the F-word to describe cancer as they dedicated the ballad “Little Bird” to a fan who had lost a relative to the disease.

The female fan wiped a tear from her eye as they sung.

Kevin (left) and Joe Jonas perform Dec. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Kevin (left) and Joe Jonas perform Dec. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

"Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour" started at Yankee Stadium in New York in August. In Newark, the Jonas Brothers played all or parts of 61 songs, dating back to their 2007 album, “Jonas Brothers,” which is actually their second major-label release,

“We had just been dropped by our first record label,” said Nick before performing “Take a Breath” from “Jonas Brothers.” “It's OK guys, it's OK. It all worked out just fine. We went down to our basement in our house in Jersey (in Little Falls) and started writing songs about things that were real to us for the first time in a long time instead of being pushed in a direction that didn't feel right to us.

"We just did whatever felt right to us, and it led us to this moment right here many, many years later.”

The Jonas Brothers' career got a boost from the Disney “Camp Rock” franchise, and they became one the biggest acts in the music world in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The band broke up in 2013, and reunited in 2019 with the album “Happiness Begins.”

Their latest album, “The Album,” was released in May, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard album chart.

There was no mention of the Jonas’ breakup, but there was perhaps a symbolic reference to the split. Nick's “A Little Bit Longer,” written about his battle with Type 1 diabetes, was movingly performed with him playing piano on the audience stage, as Kevin and Joe walked across the arena from the main stage toward him.

In the post-split era, the song's “you don't know what you got until it's gone” line can could also be interpreted as a reference to the brothers' time apart.

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As for the Jonas wives, Danielle Jonas, wife of Kevin, was mentioned by her husband as he introduced “Summer Baby.”

“This next song is about falling in love on the beach,” said Kevin, who lives in Denville with Danielle and her family. “Just like I did with the most amazing Jersey girl in the world.”

There were no sightings or mentions of actress Priyanka Chopra, who is married to Nick, nor actress Sophie Turner, who recently separated from Joe.

Frankie Jonas, the fourth Jonas Brother, drew cheers from the crowd as he took his seat in the audience.

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Frankie Jonas is shown in the audience Dec. 6 during the Jonas Brothers show at Prudential Center in Newark.
Frankie Jonas is shown in the audience Dec. 6 during the Jonas Brothers show at Prudential Center in Newark.

The night was all about the three brothers, their band and their catalog of agreeable pop-rock hits and sweeping melodic ballads. The packed crowd, mostly women who grew up with the Jonas guys, were clapping along with “I Believe” toward the end of the show.

“Leave Before You Love Me” ended things with a touch of melancholy.

But not too much melancholy, as the Jonas Brothers are back Thursday, Dec. 7. Tickets begin at $40 on Ticketmaster.

Jonas Brothers setlist

  • Celebrate!

  • What a Man Gotta Do

  • S.O.S.

  • Hold On

  • Goodnight and Goodbye

  • That's Just the Way We Roll

  • Still in Love With You

  • Australia

  • Hollywood

  • Just Friends

  • Games

  • Hello Beautiful

  • Inseparable

  • Take a Breath

  • When You Look Me in the Eyes

  • Year 3000

  • Summer Baby

  • Vacation Eyes

  • Sail Away

  • Little Bird

  • A Little Bit Longer

  • Gotta Find You

  • Introducing Me

  • BB Good

  • Shelf

  • Got Me Going Crazy

The Jonas Brothers perform Dec. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
The Jonas Brothers perform Dec. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

  • Video Girl

  • One Man Show

  • Pushin' Me Away

  • Tonight

  • Lovebug

  • Burnin' Up

  • Close

  • Chains

  • Levels

  • This Is Heaven

  • Waffle House

  • Montana Sky

  • Miracle

  • Fly With Me

  • Hey Baby

  • Poison Ivy

  • Don't Speak

  • Much Better

  • World War III

  • What Did I Do to Your Heart

  • Paranoid

  • Like It's Christmas

  • Jealous

  • Cake by the Ocean

  • Walls

  • Comeback

  • Rollercoaster

  • Strangers

  • Used to Be

  • Cool

  • Trust

  • Every Single Time

  • Happy When I'm Sad

  • Don't Throw It Away

  • Love Her

  • Hesitate

  • I Believe

  • Only Human

  • Sucker

  • Leave Before You Love Me

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Take a Breath: Another Jonas Brothers concert tonight at Prudential

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