Saturday, June 7, was the day Mohegan Sun Arena lit up with nostalgia and excitement alluding to The Driver Era’s Obsession Tour.  More than 7,000 fans were hollering and screaming for hours, only getting louder.

This tour was a little more special than most because of the addition of the soundcheck Q&A VIP experience. Being less than 100 feet away from Ross and Rocky Lynch was quite the thrill.

The duo played childhood favorites such as “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’,” from the Disney Channel Original Movie: “Teen Beach Movie. They also played various songs such as “Loud” from the duo’s previous family band, R5.

As the more intimate group of VIPs jumped around and laughed at the little anecdotes and jokes from the two, more renditions such as the Amy Winehouse classic “Valerie” encased the crowd with good vibes, ready to come.

The showstopping moment of this preshow experience is when older brother, and tour guitarist, Riker Lynch took to the stage in a towel, asking for directions to the ice plunge.

Now, writing this moment doesn’t really do the humorous stunt justice, but it was hilarious. The stunt ended up on all socials to act as an ode to the band’s preshow ritual of doing an ice bath. The 30-minute session had gone by in what felt like seconds, leaving the small crowd with a special collection of memories.  

8:00 on the dot marked the arrival of the fierce Colombian artist VALÉ. Some people may remember the name from The Driver Era’s previous East Coast tour in 2024. She wasn’t a part of the first leg of the Obsession Tour, with that spot being taken by Thomas Day.

However, with Connecticut stop being a part of the second leg, crowds were ecstatic to see the return of the beloved opener.  Singing her most recent (at the time unreleased) single “vueltas”, and other popular tunes such as “fit mami”, “malvado”, and “chill like that”, VALÉ understood the importance of hyping the crowd up constantly.

Not a slow moment went by as the stage was immersed with dancing, jumping, and amazing theatrics. Taking a moment to pay homage to her heritage by flying the Colombian flag and giving a brief lesson on her background.

One fan in the crowd even had a flag of their own, to which VALÉ’s mother, dancing around in the front row, took a photo to commemorate the moment of unity. VALÉ was a perfect addition to the tour yet again, and it was lovely to see such a performer not once, but twice. 

Between a vintage phone booth, a park bench, and a streetlight, what do those elements all have in common? Oh yeah, the most amazing stage setup ever! They even used an iron fence-like structure to give the stage more dimension. The lighting and projections added a whole new level to the already ungodly stage presence of The Driver Era.

Having Ross, Rocky, and even Riker glistening in the stage “cityscape” created the perfect emulation of the Obsession album art. There were even effects to make the payphone look as if the audience was watching Ross Lynch have a casual conversation. Imagine being on the other side of the line. Jealous!  

Mixed with the most meticulous setlist, the night exceeded expectations. Starting with dancing behind the white screen to their single “Touch”, and moving into another popular single, “You Keep Me Up At Night,” the crowd could not contain the adrenaline that was whooshing around the stage.

Constantly using the stage set-up in original and unpredictable ways, the audience could hardly keep up. They mixed songs from all albums, including the 2019 debut, “X”, 2021’s “Girlfriend,” and most importantly 2025’s “Obsession” that was released back in April.

The group even took to the concert tradition of making a mashup; in the past, it had hits such as “Pony” and “Rock With You.” This time around, the band had a mashup of the 1999 Destiny’s Child hit “Say My Name,” “Nobody Knows” from The Driver Era’s discography, and the 2009 party hit “I Got A Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas.

The unexpected addition to the set came along with Ross Lynch pointing out people in the pit dancing along with him. The night ended with the band’s most popular hit, “A Kiss,” also from “Girlfriend.” Coming out with specialty sparkling cowboy hats, the crowd went wild with Ross and Rocky leaving that lasting moment in the minds of the fans.

Every time they put on a concert, it prompts the question, will it outdo the last one? The Obsession Tour did just that, unimaginably, but as the tour grew bigger, the quality only grew as well. If you can make it to an upcoming tour date, I would highly recommend it.