*DISCLAIMER: What you’re about to read is so dramatic, I’m not sorry.
It’s 2007: I’m 9 years old, in the basement, watching Disney Channel with my older sister when a music video for the Jonas Brothers’ cover of Poor Unfortunate Souls pops up on my TV. I’m not paying attention, waiting for my show to come back on when my sister says “Look Allie, they’re singing about you”. As mean as that comment was, the second I laid eyes on the TV and noticed the three brothers singing, I immediately found a new love and it was for the Jonas Brothers. From that moment on, these boys played a huge part in my childhood. They are the reason one of my closest friends and I got so close, and represent a big bonding moment between my sister and I.
Fast forward to 2013: I’m 15 and in my gym locker room after volleyball practice, when one of my teammates tells me the devastating news that the Jonas Brothers broke up. I sat there wondering: how do a group of brothers just break up? As painful as it was, I learned to accept it and followed Nick and Joe on their solo projects, watched Kevin’s amazing reality show “Married to Jonas”, and dreamt of the day they would come back together as a band.
It’s 2019: I’m now 20 years old and I’m in my living room of my college house, waiting for my housemate so we can go to class. I open Instagram and that’s when I see it: the Jonas Brothers are back. My heart was racing (I know, I’m dramatic) as I texted my sister and my best friend to make sure they heard the news. In the following months, I jammed out to their comeback single Sucker, had a watch party for their documentary Chasing Happiness, listened to their album Happiness Begins on repeat, but most importantly, bought tickets to their reunion tour.
On August 29th, I took an Amtrak train from Bridgeport into Penn Station to meet up with my sister and friend to finally see the Jonas Brothers again. It had been 10 years since I last saw them at Madison Square Garden. Being 21 years old at a Jonas Brothers concert was a different experience. I’m old enough to have a beer and drink with the boys as they take shots before singing a beautiful medley of their old songs. As the lights go down and the intro music starts, I find myself crying, holding my sister’s and friend’s hands as we realize what is happening. After 10 years since last seeing them and 6 years since their last album, I’m finally seeing these boys in concert again. And just like their tour name states, Happiness Begins at a Jonas Brothers concert.