Five for Fighting Brings Songs, Stories and Strings to a Sold-Out BNH Stage

CONCORD, NH — September 25, 2026

Some live music shows are built around big lights, pyrotechnics, literally all the bells and whistles.  And other live shows remind us how powerful a great song can be when you strip it down and let it play for itself.  Friday night’s sold-out Five for Fighting performance at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord fell squarely into the second category.

With John Ondrasik at the piano and a string quartet transforming songs many of us have known for decades, the evening was warm, funny, nostalgic and, at times, unexpectedly emotional. But before Five for Fighting took the stage, Concord met a young duo worth remembering.

Lace & Lee Make New Fans in Concord

Lace & Lee walked onto the BNH Stage with the difficult job every opening act faces: playing for a room full of people who came to see someone else.  They didn’t seem particularly worried about it.  Young, talented, funny and completely comfortable with one another, the duo quickly built a connection with the audience through beautiful harmonies, smart songwriting and a sense of humor that kept showing up between songs.

Their voices are striking together…precise but never overworked, sweet, light and almost dreamy at times. Songs including “Top Dog,” “Hunter,” “Oh What a Weapon,” “Penn Station Strawberries” and the wonderfully named “Roadkill” gave the audience a glimpse of just how much range exists inside their songwriting.  

Even when the subject matter turned toward anxiety, pain or the more complicated pieces of being human, Lace & Lee found a way to keep the audience close. A lyric comparing pain to puzzle pieces lingered long after the song ended.  

And then there was “Jolene.”  Taking on a song that is recognizable requires confidence, and their harmonies gave it their own identity without trying to overpower what people already love about it.  By the time the pair ended their set with their new song “Roadkill,” they had accomplished exactly what a great opener should: they had made people curious about what comes next.

Lace & Lee have stories to tell. More importantly, they already understand how to invite an audience into those stories. They are technically strong performers, generous with their song choices and naturally entertaining. Their humor creates the opening, and then the songs often go somewhere deeper.  They lit up the stage in Concord, and I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from them.

Five for Fighting, With the String Quartet

When John Ondrasik took the stage, the evening shifted into something that felt less like a traditional concert and more like spending a couple of hours listening to someone tell the stories behind the songs that became part of your own life.  These songs are already emotional, but strings add another layer: sometimes delicate, sometimes cinematic and sometimes always passionate and emotional. You don’t simply hear the arrangements differently. You feel them differently.  “Easy Tonight” was an early reminder of that, particularly during a gorgeous violin solo that filled the intimate BNH Stage beautifully.

Ondrasik is also an easy storyteller. Friendly, funny and warm, he seemed genuinely delighted to be back in New Hampshire and fully embraced the Granite State experience, right down to the apples, cider donuts and a little appreciation for “Live Free or Die.”  That connection with the audience became one of the best parts of the night.

Before “65 Mustang,” Ondrasik talked about the nostalgia behind the song, prompting immediate connection the the audience. That is what songs like these do.  One person writes from his own memory and somehow sends hundreds of other people wandering through theirs.  

Then came the song nearly everyone in the room had been waiting for.  “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” still lands.  More than two decades after it first found its way into people’s lives, hearing it performed in an intimate space with piano and strings made the song feel less like a radio hit and more like the vulnerable piece of songwriting it has always been.

Family, Freedom and the Stories Behind the Songs

Ondrasik spent much of the evening giving context to his music, stories about his wife, his family, his career and the experiences that have shaped what he chooses to write about.  One of the evening’s sweetest moments came when his daughter Olivia joined him onstage for “I Just Love You.”  There are polished musical moments, and then there are human ones.  This was both.  Watching a father and daughter share the stage gave the song an intimacy no arrangement could manufacture.

Another major thread throughout the evening was Ondrasik’s support for members of the military and their families. He spoke about the Gary Sinise Foundation, recognized military families in the audience and shared the story behind a song inspired after meeting the father of a service member.

Regardless of where an audience member might fall on any particular issue, there is little ambiguity about what motivates Ondrasik when he talks about these subjects: gratitude toward people who serve and deep concern for the families who sacrifice alongside them.

That became even more powerful during “Can One Man Save the World?”  Ondrasik introduced the song by talking about his experience traveling to Ukraine before video from the trip filled the screen behind him.  The room became very quiet.  Seeing the images while hearing the song performed live transformed it into one of the evening’s most emotionally intense moments.

Later, he reflected on performing in New York City earlier this month as part of the 25th anniversary remembrance of September 11. Coming only two weeks after that anniversary, the story and music carried a weight that was impossible to miss.

“The Day I Died” followed as another reminder that beneath the familiar radio songs sits a much deeper Five for Fighting catalog.  There were surprises, too. At one point Ondrasik performed a song he told the audience he had never played live before…exactly the kind of small, unrepeatable moment that makes live music worth chasing.

Four for Fighting

The string players were never simply background musicians.  Ondrasik made sure of that.

During a playful segment he dubbed “Four for Fighting,” quartet members Peter, Chris, Melissa and Katie stepped into the spotlight with a wildly entertaining musical detour that blended classical technique with rock and roll.  Pieces of familiar songs began appearing, including “Stairway to Heaven,” before the medley eventually landed on Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”

It was emotional,passionate, technically impressive and completely unexpected.  And that describes much of the night.  The musicianship throughout the performance was outstanding, especially considering this tour is moving through New England on back-to-back nights. 

One More Song! And Everyone on Their Feet

After an evening filled with stories about childhood, marriage, fatherhood, military families, September 11 and the strange way songs travel with us through different stages of our lives, Five for Fighting could have ended quietly.  Instead, they threw a party.

Lace & Lee returned to the stage and suddenly the entire room was singing along to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  People were standing. People were dancing. Everyone knew the words.  It was an inspired way to close the night.

Because after all the stories and all the reflection, sometimes the right ending is simply getting a room full of strangers onto their feet and reminding them how much fun live music can be.  Five for Fighting with String Quartet is now making its way through New England, and this version of the show is worth experiencing.

The familiar songs are there.  And so are the deep cuts, the stories behind them, a few surprises and four exceptional string players who give those songs an entirely different emotional vocabulary.

And if Lace & Lee happen to be opening when the tour reaches your city, get there early.  You’re going to want to hear them, too.

Find Lace & Lee and upcoming tour dates at LaceAndLee.com.

Five for Fighting tour information and music can be found at FiveForFighting.com.

Bonnie M for WSCA 106.1FM Portsmouth, NH

Photos and more: Bonnie’s Mixtape