From Nickelodeon to Isleta, Big Time Rush to make Albuquerque tour stop

Big Time Rush is looking forward to their return to Albuquerque.

“There is some magic to the desert,” Logan Henderson said. “And I always think that those shows are a lot of fun, so it’s going to be amazing.”

Big Time Rush will perform on Friday, Aug. 22, at Isleta Amphitheater.

The band formed in 2010 with the Nickelodeon TV show, “Big Time Rush,” and broke up in 2014 when the show ended. After a seven-year hiatus, the band re-formed in 2021, which gave them time to think about what they wanted the band to be, Henderson said.

“I’m happy the fans stuck with us. And we had the seasons air on Netflix, and so we had new fans coming in, and then fans that had been there from the very beginning,” he said.

The band is on their second tour since coming back together and the “Big Time Rush: In Real Life Worldwide” tour will feature every song from the show.

“I think the four of us, we constantly kind of pinch ourselves and think how lucky we are to still be doing this,” Henderson said. “To be doing it now in our own way. And I think that it’s been incredible to see the fans that have grown with us.”

Henderson said that this time around, the band has found time to appreciate the special moments of day-to-day tour life.

“I think we’re all a little older. I think we’ve matured slightly. Let’s not get too out of hand, we’re still uber immature, but we matured slightly,” Henderson said. “And I think we are just really having fun and taking our time with this tour and just enjoying all the little moments as well.”

The group hopes to use the concert to blend their TV show past with who they are now as a band.

“For me, we’re not really trying to be characters on stage. We are who we are, and people have seen us the last two years,” Henderson said. “So we have some segments in the show that we’ve prerecorded that kind of give us that feel or maybe some reminiscent nostalgia for people, but now, we are who we are.”

The band has spent time creating new music, releasing the single, “I Want You Here All The Time,” on June 20. Henderson said the inspiration for new music comes from the bands they grew up listening to, like the Eagles and the Bee Gees.

“Even just to kind of think of the landscape of music 10 years ago, it’s pretty wild,” Henderson said. “So I would say even with this last album, ‘Another Life,’ we were kind of getting back to our roots.”

While producing new music, Henderson said he has found himself reconnecting with the group’s older songs in new ways.

“Sometimes you just write a song, but not until you hear it back years later, does it maybe connect with you on a different level,” Henderson said. “And we’ve had a few songs like that that I listen to and I go, ‘Oh, you know what? That kind of hits a little bit harder than it did the first time.’”

The band has come a long way since its start, but it stays true to its roots, said Henderson.

“The comedy that we’ve always shared from the four of us really kind of connects back to that TV show. It kind of feels like something that you’ve heard from back in the day,” Henderson said.

The group toured in 2022 with the “Forever Tour,” which included an Albuquerque stop. Henderson said there are similar elements from the last tour to the new one.

“We’re out there still doing flips, jumping around, there’s a trampoline, there’s all sorts of different things that we have going on,” Henderson said. “And our band is incredible. So really, it’s just such a spectacle.”

And Henderson said that the new tour is even bigger.

“We just have some of the largest screens that I’ve ever seen. There’s so much content. We have Travis Shirley, who put this show together for us,” Henderson said. “This design is on a whole other level. It’s probably our biggest show we’ve ever done.”

Henderson said the atmosphere at concerts is enhanced by the generations of fans.

“People are just loving being around a lot of their old friends and friends they grew up with. And some people bring the whole family to which I love,” Henderson said. “And so I think it’s a big love bomb. It’s a big love fest.”

Henderson said that when it comes to Big Time Rush being back on tour, the band and fans want the same thing.

“You know, at this point, we’ve been doing it for a long time,” Henderson said. “We’re kind of professionals at this point, so I think they want to see a great show, and honestly, we want to put on the best show we’ve ever put on.”