Concert Reviews
At a sublime show Friday, Odom Jr. cemented his status as the latest legend to play with the Pops.
Leslie Odom Jr. played with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in 2025. He was back with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Friday night. Erin Clark/Globe Staff
Leslie Odom Jr. with the Boston Pops, at Symphony Hall, Friday, May 22.
On Friday night, Tony-Award winning actor and Grammy-Award winning singer Leslie Odom Jr. joined the Boston Pops for a star-spangled performance.
Best known for originating the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical Hamilton, Odom Jr.’s second performance with the Boston Pops was highly anticipated as a part of the Pops’ 2026 spring season. This year marks the Pops’ 140th season, as well as the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, so it felt fitting to introduce an artist associated with the creative reimagining of pivotal moments in American history.
The orchestra began the show appropriately with Dudley Buck’s “Festival Overture on ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’” during which beloved conductor Keith Lockhart instructed the audience to stand and sing the national anthem. The theme continued with “Buckaroo Holiday” from Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo. Lockhart referred to Copland as the “Dean of American composers,” setting the tone for an exploration of the richness and diversity of American music.
He further explained that there are two distinctly American musical art forms: jazz and American musical theatre. Recognizing that an audience who was there to see a Broadway star was likely appreciative of musical theatre, Lockhart launched his orchestra into the musical Carousel’s opening number “The Carousel Waltz” by Richard Rodgers, which was followed by “Times Square 1944” from On the Town. Leonard Bernstein’s dynamic tune built up the energy for the lively rendition of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” composed by jazz pioneer Duke Ellington. The Pops closed out this first act with what Lockhart called an “unusual arrangement” by Morton Gould of the patriotic ditty “Yankee Doodle.”
Following an intermission, Odom Jr.’s four-piece band joined the Pops on stage, preceding the singer whose warm, velvety voice captivated the audience before he even stepped into the spotlight. Decked out in an overcoat and sparkly gloves, Odom Jr. conducted himself with a theatrical swagger that could only be achieved from years of honing his craft on stage and screen. He delivered a mesmerizing performance of several songs, including “Fly Me To The Moon” and “My Favorite Things,” keeping his voice smooth and controlled while seamlessly transitioning from one song to the next. As he introduced his band, he brought attention to the fact that these musicians were skilled stage performers also, incorporating dramatic movements of their hands and bodies as they played.
The lighting until this point had been a soft blue tinged with purple, glamorously illuminating the stage like moonlight to match the actor’s dreamy vocals. But as he began to croon the romantic classic “L-O-V-E,” the lighting turned to a mix of vibrant pink, purple, and red, as if to celebrate Valentine’s Day in May at Symphony Hall. Odom Jr. mentioned the venue after the song, saying it was “special to be in this room” and that “legends have played on this stage” with a humility that suggested he was unaware that he was one of them. He remarked that it had been nearly a decade since his last Pops performance.
In that decade, Odom Jr. appeared in films such as “Murder on the Orient Express” (2017), “Harriet” (2019), and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (2022). He also portrayed soul artist Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami…” (2020), for which he was nominated for two Academy Awards. The film featured his cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” Odom Jr. and his band performed the heartfelt song on the Symphony Hall stage with soul and vitality. The lyrics rang out and touched the hearts of every audience member, sending a glimmer of hope for social change that is just as necessary now as it was when the song was written in 1964.
Odom Jr. also made sure to indulge the Hamilton fans in the audience. His rendition of “Wait for It” from the musical was raw and moving, amplified by the strings in the Pops’ orchestra. While his singing here appeared to be much more controlled and subdued than the impassioned belting associated with the Broadway version, it felt like the inhibited emotion made the performance all the more powerful. As he sang the lyrics, “I am the one thing in life I can control,” it was clear that it was not the character of Aaron Burr singing them, but Leslie Odom Jr., purely and unapologetically himself.
He also performed his own version of the musical’s opening number “Alexander Hamilton.” Before singing, he expressed that he was nervous about remembering all the words to the fast-paced hip-hop show tune and that he “usually [doesn’t] do all these parts,” referring to the song’s status as a grand ensemble number in the show. Nonetheless, his talent shone brightly as if he were back on Broadway. His powerful performance blended the drama and theatrics that Lin Manuel Miranda’s piece demanded with his own suave crooner style, and he was accompanied by both the Pops’ rhythm section and the beaming audience’s snapping fingers. He swapped other Hamilton characters’ lines in the last verse for a chilling repetition of his own as Aaron Burr: “And me…me…me…I’m the damn fool that shot him.”
At the end of the show, Lockhart and Odom Jr. walked back on stage for their final bow, arms around one another. The audience stood with resounding applause in celebration of a night that exemplified the depth and vibrancy of what American music can be.
Setlist for Leslie Odom Jr. and the Boston Pops, May 22, 2026:
Boston Pops:
- Festival Overture on The Star Spangled Banner, Opus 23 (Buck)
- Buckaroo Holiday from Rodeo (Copland)
- The Carousel Waltz (Rodgers)
- Times Square 1944 from On the Town (Bernstein) | It Don’t Mean a Thing (Ellington—arr. Sebesky)
Boston Pops with Leslie Odom Jr.:
- Standards Medley (arr. Elliott)
- Fly Me To The Moon (Howard) | My Buddy (Donaldson/Kahn)
- On A Clear Day (Lerner) | My Favorite Things (Rodgers/Hammerstein)
- L-O-V-E (Kaempfert/Gabler—arr. Carmichael/Elliott)
- Let Me Be Your Star (Shaiman/Wittman—arr. Elliott) | Wait For It (Miranda—arr. Elliott) | Tonight, Tonight (Corgan—arr. Elliott)
- Keep Breathing (Michaelson—arr. Elliott)
- Smile (Chaplin/Turner/Parsons—arr. Elliott)
- A Change is Gonna’ Come (Cooke—arr. Elliott)
Encore:
- Open My Eyes (Traditional—arr. Elliott) | Alexander Hamilton (Miranda) | I Wish You Love (Trenet/Chauliac—arr. Elliott)
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