This writer would have never imagined walking through the long and meandering road leading to Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course beyond this year’s Lollapalooza, held in January, but a repeat soon occurred in March for Ed Sheeran’s second visit to the city and, just when you considered that history cannot repeat itself any further, California-based Maroon 5 performed there on 3^rd December 2024.

Commencing their debut performance in India at 8.11pm, led by the enigmatic Adam Levine (lead vocals, rhythm guitar); the rest of the band consisted of Jesse Carmichael (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), James Valentine (lead and acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Matt Flynn (drums), PJ Morton (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sam Farrar (bass), and started their set with the magnetism of Animals, followed by the reggae-tinged One More Night, before embarking on the incredibly catchy This Love.

After covering some 16 songs in an hour, ten minutes, Maroon 5 went off stage, returning precisely three minutes later when Levine and guitarist James Valentine kicked off the band’s three-song encore that covered an acoustic rendition of She Will Be Loved, as Levine requested a woman from the audience, who was holding a bouquet of flowers, be brought onto the ramp protruding from the stage where he stood, hugged her, and even sang a verse from the song directly to her. Thereafter, Maroon 5 followed it by the sing-along of “ye-ye-ye” from Girls Like You, ending the concert after one hour, 35 minutes at 9.46pm with the perfectly sweetened Sugar.

In conclusion, the 19-odd song setlist, which was obviously tilted heavily on the band’s hits, and rightfully so, but they also picked a cover of Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover that emphasized Levine’s falsetto singing, and included a showcase piece for keyboardist PJ Morton, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter in his own right, on Heavy. Among other key moments among the chart toppers included performing Memories, a poignant tribute to the band’s late manager and Levine’s childhood friend, Jordan Feldstein, who passed away in 2017, aged 40.

The result of the concert was a non-stop string of songs that anyone who has listened to pop music across the past 20 years or so would instantly recognize, regardless of their level of fandom, which resulted in the perfect dance party for the Mumbai crowd, most of them providing expected backing vocals which, on several occasions, Levine intentionally provided gaps for the audience to sing-along to.

Overall, the setlist really fit the mood of the concert, with a ballad thrown in every once in awhile. The heavily tattooed lead singer Adam Levine was quite the consummate performer, whether it was by way of his fine singing voice or his tendency to grab an electric guitar mid-song, and playing a solo.

In concert, the band certainly sounded larger than their studio recordings, thanks to the fabulous sound, striking visuals in the backdrop, impressive lighting and a fireworks display at the end, while the band often intentionally deviated/improvised from the tracks off their albums, permitting for audience interaction.

Maroon 5 are definitely a pop band with an obvious hint of soul. However, as seasoned musicians, they are not only adept musicians, but, in a live setting, permit their recorded songs length, and the music breadth, for the benefit of the crowd. Two songs that were certainly missing from the set list included 2021’s mid-tempo Beautiful Mistakes, and last year’s acoustic ballad, Middle Ground, both of which could have only further reiterated Levine’s impressive tenor range.

For those interested, the present band evolved out of the remnants of Kara's Flowers, a post-grunge pop band whose 1997 debut never took off, not even when their debut was reissued in the wake of the fresh avatar’s success. Maroon 5’s music has often been described by critics as “blue-eyed soul”; however, the description matters little as Maroon 5 has scored 32 Billboard Hot 100 hits — including four No.1s, and 15 top 10s — and will always have a deep library of music to choose from while performing live.

Their strong hooks, chilled vibes, and lyrics about love, certainly aided Levine into navigating the songs beyond the ordinary, especially with his falsetto, as the repertoire was uniformly tight and tuneful, sounding even better in concert. Indeed, it was a treat witnessing, live, the true colours of Maroon 5.

The complete setlist:

Animals

One More Night

This Love

Stereo Hearts

Harder To Breathe

Sunday Morning

Payphone

What Lovers Do Makes Me Wonder

I Wanna Be Your Lover (a Prince cover)

Heavy Maps

Memories

Don’t Wanna Know

Love Somebody

Moves Like Jagger

ENCORE

She Will Be Loved

Girls Like You

Sugar

Reviewed by Parag Kamani

Parag Kamani has been part of the media and entertainment industry across 35 years, having worked for licensors such as Warner Music and EMI/Virgin in music, as well as Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures in the field of films. Parag continues pursuing his passion as a profession.