Trevor Hall @ The Wilbur

Trevor Hall
November 17th, 2016 at The Wilbur

By: Emily Grinberg

By eight o’clock on Thursday, The Wilbur Theater was packed with tye-dye wearing, man bun sporting fans dubbed “Villagers ,” all ready to listen to an inspirational performance by the indie/reggae artist Trevor Hall. The stage setup was extremely minimal – a tapestry with clouds hung and a large red rug with a mandala pattern covered the floor. Until then, I had only been to alternative and rock concerts, so this was a big change to see everyone and everything so laid back. From the friendly and peaceful vibe I got, I knew I was in for a relaxing evening. The one thing that was unusual for a concert in this age of technology was the strictly enforced no photo and video rule at The Wilbur. However, it made the show more intimate and allowed the audience to focus entirely on the music, rather than trying to post every song on their social media.

The sounds of Christina Holmes’ upbeat guitar chords filled the theatre as the audience filed in and took their seats. The real show started when singer/songwriter Dustin Thomas walked on stage with only an acoustic guitar. He made it known that he is a relatively new artist; announcing that it was his first time performing in Boston, and that he would soon be releasing his first album on iTunes. His voice had a pleasantly raw sound to it, and his beatboxing skills were unheard of. While his original songs were full of talent and soothing, they were unfamiliar to the crowd. Still, the audience hummed along to the catchy tunes and swayed to the beats. He closed his set with a medley of well-known sing-alongs such as Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” John Mayer’s “Waiting On The World To Change,” and The Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is The Love .” The reaction from the crowd was positive and fueled Thomas with happiness. Thomas closed his set quickly after this and introduced Trevor Hall to loud applause.

Trevor Hall made his entrance barefoot and wearing his token beanie. After the applause died down, he introduced one of his dearest friends and elders who has studied with “great masters of our time.” The man opened the show with a prayer, and then passed the mic to “Trev the Rev.” Spirits were high and auras were glowing as he sang his most beloved songs such as “Origami Crane,” “Green Mountain State,” and “Unity.” During his hit song “Where’s The Love,” he mixed in the lyrics of Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson,” and M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” an unlikely combination that somehow flowed beautifully together. Before performing “To Zion,” one of his older songs, Trevor acknowledged that his parents were in the audience tonight, and much to my surprise they were sitting a few rows in front of me. Throughout the show I kept looking over at them, and noticed that they lit up every time the crowd applauded for their son. The highlight of the show was when he began to sing a fan favorite, “The Lime Tree.” During the song, an unspoken bond seemed to have brought the entire audience together. For his encore, he announced he would be singing “Great Mirror,” a song he had never performed live before. Even though he messed up and had to start over because he forgot his own lyrics, the crowd chuckled and continued cheering. Trevor closed the show with a prayer, saying, “all songs are prayers in my mind.” He spoke about the controversial issue of the DAPL Pipeline, saying “it’s fucked up,” followed by his newest tune, “Standing Rock.”

Trevor Hall’s positive attitude was an inspiration to everyone that night, his tranquil vibe spreading like wildfire. I left the show that night feeling nothing but peace and happiness; it was the perfect little escape from reality.