Jessie Reyez Pours Her Heart Out in Boston Stop of ‘Paid in Memories’ Tour

There are concerts you attend for fun, and then there are concerts that feel like therapy wrapped in poetry and power. Jessie Reyez’s Paid in Memories tour stop in Boston was absolutely the latter. Not just entertained—moved. Jessie Reyez’s Paid in Memories show at Boston’s House of Blues was something else entirely—it was transformative. I went to the second sold-out night in Boston with my boyfriend John, our friend Destiny, and her boyfriend Jay, and we all left changed. We were excited, sure, but none of us expected to be so emotionally cracked open by the end of the night.

As soon as Jessie stepped onto that stage on June 29, the energy shifted. It felt like the entire audience inhaled at once, and didn’t exhale until the final note. She opened with raw power and didn’t let go, moving through a set that felt more like a ritual than a performance. 

Early in the evening, Jessie shared her three rules for her shows. Rule #1: This is a No Shame Zone–meaning everyone should feel empowered to be themselves, no judging others on how they choose to have a good time.  Rule #2: Don’t just sign along, scream along–if you lose your voice and go home sounding like an 80-year-old smoker, Jessie will have done her job. Rule #3: Go home feeling better than you came. Let go of anything weighing you down, and enjoy the moment, make memories!
The top of the setlist leaned heavily into her most recent album, Paid In Memories, a body of work that’s as honest as it is versatile. Performances of the high-octane “Beggin 4 Luv” and emotionally resonant “Goliath” were followed by the fun and flirtatious “NYB”, the   upbeat and catchy “Palo Santo”, and one of my personal faves, “Psilocybin & Daisies”. The lights turned into a dreamy purple fog, evoking the blissful haze of the psilocybin and infatuation-fuelled scenes depicted in the song, mixed with its nostalgic mood and existential refrain “Tomorrow’s just this moment’s enemy”. Jessie even brought her dad out on stage for a dance break, a sweet moment and nod to her Colombian heritage.

In addition to her more recent hits, the show left plenty of room for older favorites spanning her discography–from “Apple Juice”, “Shutter Island” and “Coffin” to “Imported”, “Forever” and “Mutual Friend”. One of the most unforgettable moments was her performance of “Figures,” when she ascended to a platform high above the stage and pulled out her guitar for an acoustic rendition of her breakout hit. Jessie sat nearly motionless at the mic, letting the song breathe through her as stars rained down behind her. The vulnerability in her voice was so real, it felt like the walls were closing in to listen. I looked over at John, Jay, and Destiny—we were all frozen. That track hit something deep and soul wrenching. Afterwards, the band continued to play and Jessie cued up the crowd to sing on their own as she climbed down. The sold out crowd carried the song word for word, making for one of those indelible live music moments when pure connection transcends everything else and unites a room full of strangers.

Indeed, her ability to create genuine connection among a room full of strangers is one of the things I appreciated most about seeing Jessie live. Throughout the night, dozens of bras came flying from the crowd onto the stage, along with a pair of boxers (“That’s a new one”, laughed Jessie). She collected them all and hung them from the mic as she performed hit singles from the recent album “Ridin’” and “Jeans”. Jessie wrapped up the evening by leading the crowd in her daily affirmations: “I am Strong. I am Happy. I am smart as hell. And when I see fuckery, I do not engage. Because I protect my peace. And it couldn’t be me!” She closed the incredible night with a high energy performance of the undisputed fan favorite from the recent album, “Cudn’t B Me”. She let the crowd shout the lyrics at the top of their lungs before launching into the song herself, which completely shattered the room. What started as a gentle, aching ballad turned into a full-on emotional purge; you could feel her heartbreak, her growth, her rebirth. Destiny wiped away tears. Even Jay—who never cries—was quietly floored.

Jessie doesn’t just sing about love and heartrbreak—she sings about grieving versions of yourself, about the work it takes to rebuild, about trying to survive your own demons. Every lyric feels handwritten and every beat earned. There’s no fluff here—just soul.

The two shows in Boston followed emotional stops in Philadelphia and Connecticut, and just before hitting New York City and the DMV. Fans who had attended previous shows had posted about how different each city felt, but always with the same thread: connection, catharsis, and community.

At the HOB, Jessie connected with the crowd deeply and often. Between songs, she told us stories—about growing up, about pain, about reclaiming your body and your worth. At one point, when someone from the floor shouted “We love you!” she paused and said quietly, “I’m just trying to love myself back.” The whole place went still. And then the cheers that followed? Deafening.

The production was minimalist but powerful. No flashy visuals, just sharp lighting and a little smoke—enough to frame Jessie like a living, breathing flame. Her voice, her stage presence, and her authenticity  were the show. And they filled every corner of the venue like it was built for her.

When it was over, none of us wanted to leave. We stood on Lansdowne Street afterward in a bit of a daze, holding each other, processing. Jay looked up at the sky and said, “That felt like church,” and honestly, it did. Jessie Reyez didn’t just perform at the House of Blues—she sanctified it.

For me, this concert won’t just be a memory. It’ll be a reminder of the power of truth, of music as medicine, and of how deeply we all just want to be seen—and healed.

Jessie is currently wrapping up the U.S. leg of the Paid In Memories tour on the West Coast, and then heading to Europe in September before coming back to Canada in November, and finishing in her hometown of Toronto in December. Grab your tickets, you don’t want to miss her!