Bruno Mars begins a record-breaking run of concerts in Vancouver

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Bruno Mars brings The Romantic Tour to town this week for a record-breaking five-concert run at B.C. Place.

Announced in rapid succession, the concerts quickly sold out. At the time of writing this piece, only the fifth and final performance on Oct. 21 still had tickets available for purchase at ticketmaster.ca.

The price for a seat ranged from $199 in the upper levels to more than $315 for scattered floor seats. That’s actually a deal compared to the mortgage down payments people dropped for Taylor Swift’s final Eras Tour shows in Vancouver.

It’s certain that Swift could have sold out more performances effortlessly had there been more dates, but this doesn’t lessen Mars’s achievement. After almost a decade away from touring, the artist born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, has come a very long way since he first gained recognition after forming The Smeezingtons in 2009.

That songwriting and production team of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine came to global attention first via a Canadian connection when it produced the song Wavin’ Flag for Toronto singer K’naan in 2009. Mars made his debut single appearance that same year when he sang on rapper B.o.B.’s Nothin’ on You. This was the first Billboard No. 1 for the trio and also marked Mars’s first chart-topping appearance billed under his own name as a featured artist. Critics were mixed on the song, although Allmusic.com’s David Jeffries correctly noted that Mars’s “seemed to be everywhere” by year’s end.

That was because he dropped both his debut EP, It’s Better If You Don’t Understand, and full-length debut, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, in rapid succession in 2010. Doo-Wops & Hooligans generated more No. 1 singles with Just the Way You Are and Grenade. Thus began a run on the charts that has never stopped for the musician, who now has 16 Grammy Awards to his credit, including multiple record of the year honours.

Mars played his first concert in Vancouver at Rogers Arena on June 3 2011; he co-headlined the Hooligans In Wondaland tour with Janelle Monáe.

Vancouver Sun reviewer François Marchand wrote, “Mars genuinely loves the material he is drawing inspiration from — doo-wop and pop-rock on Marry You — or straight-up covering — Money (That’s What I Want) and Travie McCoy’s Billionaire — which meant the groove felt right throughout … Mars may well be on his way to superstardom, and if he’s managed to do it so well it’s probably by bridging the gap between teenagers’ High School Musical/ Glee phase and their adult pop life, some of the material — Runaway Baby or The Lazy Song for example — falling squarely in the middle.

Then there’s the perfectly aimed Just the Way You Are, which would obviously close the show, causing so many girls in the audience to go home feeling like the most special person in the world. Now that’s a pop song.”

Three years after his breakout debut, Mars headlined a sold-out show at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on The Moonshine Jungle Tour in support of his second smash album, Unothodox Jukebox. Writing in The Province, I noted the singer’s dynamic charisma and how “the guy can seduce an audience like few can.”

A year later, he was back at the Squamish Valley Music Festival headlining one of the event’s three nights, reprising his Rogers Arena performance. François Marchand noted that the pop star’s appearance at a festival more oriented towards Arcade Fire and Eminem had seemed somewhat out of place, but Mars left no doubt why he was on the bill:

“American pop sensation Bruno Mars also provided a complete experience Friday, bringing along his gold-plated gear (including everything from light stands to some of the band’s instruments), lasers and supersized booty-shaking grooves for his Moonshine Jungle show. If many wondered if a guy like Mars belonged at a festival like the SVMF, any nagging doubts were quickly silenced when the 28-year-old artist born Peter Gene Hernandez got his soul-machine party going.”

Mars brought his 24K Magic World Tour to Rogers Arena in 2017; he performed two sold-out shows on July 26 and July 27. I noted, “Mars can play an impressive variety of instruments and showcases his manifold skills in concert. In the set, you’ll get him as solo piano man (When I Was Your Man), Michael Jackson-esque balladeer (Versace on the Floor) and even guitar hero (Locked Out of Heaven, and others).”

The singer did not tour through Vancouver with his duo, Silk Sonic, featuring Anderson .Paak. Based on the average 26-song tour setlists, Vancouver audiences will hear a whole set of Silk Sonic sounds at B.C. Place. Anderson .Paak is the support act in his DJ pee .wee role, so he is in the house.

Also on the supporting act lineup is U.K. soul belter Raye. Based on her incredible show at UBC earlier this year, you won’t want to miss her set.

To say Mars is coming in hot for this round of concerts is a gross understatement. Stats from Warner Music Canada paint a clear picture of just how popular he is.

Released on Feb. 27, 2026, The Romantic entered the Billboard Canadian Albums chart at No. 1 and the single I Just Might sat in the top spot on the North American Hot AC, AC and Top 40 charts for 11 consecutive weeks. The song spent 20 weeks in that spot on Canadian AC radio. Even before he racked up his record-breaking booking at B.C. Place, his Toronto dates on the tour broke Taylor Swift’s previous record at that venue in terms of number of shows, as well as ticket sales.

Setting ticket sales records for a single tour stop in two of Canada’s most vibrant concert markets is a huge achievement. Yet it just seems to be the way that Bruno Mars rolls.

With files and research from Postmedia librarian Carolyn Soltau