Benson Boone Plays One of His Biggest Shows at Quebec’s FEQ Fest, Admits Even He Doesn’t Know What ‘Moonbeam Ice Cream’ Is

Benson Boone‘s rapid rise reached its apex this weekend at one of the biggest concert stages in North America: the Plains of Abraham mainstage at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) in Quebec City.

“If I’m not mistaken, there are 80,000 of you,” Boone said at one point during the July 5 set (one night after Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan), but the number was reportedly even bigger than that — closer to 90,000.

“Oh my gosh,” he said, stopping partway through the piano ballad “There She Goes.” Seeing the phone lights lit up throughout the audience, he was able to visualize just how far back the crowd went. It stopped him in his tracks.

By now, few milestones should surprise the 23-year-old singer from Utah. His 2024 hit “Beautiful Things” propelled him to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in both the United States and Canada, and has currently spent 75 weeks and counting on the Canadian Hot 100. He has four songs currently charting there, and his album American Heart debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart dated July 5. Since his showstopping performance at the 2025 Grammys, his star has continued to get brighter (along with some backlash).

But FEQ has a way of making the scale feel even bigger. Though it remains somewhat under the radar outside of Quebec, the festival consistently books some of the hugest shows of the summer — as with Post Malone last year — and artists are often shocked once they step onto the massive stage.

Benson Boone has already oriented his music to those stages. His presence is acrobatic, both with his voluminous vocals and his signature stage moves. It took less than one song before he did his first flip. Boone had a grand piano with him, similar to the one he used at the Grammys. He occasionally sat to play, but as much as it was an instrument, the piano was there as a stage prop. Every time he got on top of it to sing, the countdown was on for what kind of trick he would do off of it: a jump kick, a simple hop, or most impressively, a full backflip.

Moving around so much in tight jeans can cause issues. At one point, he looked down and realized his pants were ripped at the thigh.

Musically, Boone’s live vocals seem to draw inspiration from singers like Harry Styles and Adele, mixing pop with elements of soul and glam rock. For his showmanship, he’s also clearly taking cues from Freddie Mercury. At this show, he used the epic festival setting to pay tribute to one of Queen’s most iconic performances, leading the audience in a wordless “ayyyyy-oh” call and response just like Mercury did at Live Aid.

Though his album has received some biting reviews that say his over-the-top style masks a lack of depth in the songs and lyrics, it was clear the music was connecting with the audience in Quebec City. All around, people in the multigenerational audience cried, screamed and sang along. He joked around a little, admitting even he didn’t know the meaning of “moonbeam ice cream,” a line from his new hit “Mystical Magical” that has gone viral.

For other songs, he explained the personal meaning behind them — like the tribute to his father, Nate Boone, in “Mr. Electric Blue.” He asked everyone to put away their phones to experience an in-the-moment personal reflection for just one song, “In the Stars,” which he wrote about the death of his great-grandmother.

After just over an hour, he said he understood if fans didn’t yet know all the words to the songs from American Heart since it only came out a couple of weeks ago, but did expect everyone to sing along to his last one. Of course, that song was “Beautiful Things,” and he went all out for the bombastic hit. As fireworks erupted with the song’s climax, Boone jumped down into the audience and embraced as many fans as he could while a security guard ran behind him.

He’s still early in his career, but Boone felt right at home as a festival headliner.

This article was originally published by Billboard Canada.