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Sean Paul In Vancouver
Sean Paul In Vancouver set the city’s temperature ablaze. This marked one of the first arena performances in Vancity in years from a true Dancehall Reggae legend, and the anticipation was real. The crowd’s energy matched the heat of the night, with a few fans clearly feeling higher than others in more ways than one. The PNE Summer Night Concert drew a massive turnout, filling the Pacific Coliseum nearly to capacity. With Sean Paul’s global legacy and decades of dominance, the buzz leading into the show felt electric. His crew lit the fuse with a DJ set with reggae staples that loosened up set the mood perfectly. Once Sean Paul hit the stage, the energy skyrocketed. The roughly 22-track setlist stacked hit after hit, pushing the night into overdrive from the very first moments.
Setlist
The crowd roared while chanting “Chanderpaul,” Sean Paul’s producer tag that tips the hat to cricket star Shivnarine Chanderpaul. As the DJ wrapped up, the man of the hour stormed in with Get Busy. That opener hit especially close for me, since it was a constant soundtrack in my household growing up. From Dutty Rock, Paul’s breakout album, the night rolled into classics like Gimme the Light, Like Glue, and the Beyoncé collaboration Baby Boy. These songs helped cement his career two decades ago, and hearing them live proved they still land with the same punch today. The setlist didn’t stop there. Fans lit up for We Be Burnin’, moved with No Lie featuring Dua Lipa, and lost it when Temperature shut the night down. Between the heavy-hitters, Sean Paul slipped in fan-favorite collabs like Clean Bandit’s Rockabye and Sia’s Cheap Thrills, turning Vancouver into one massive singalong.
Highlights
Two backup dancers, Ileanna Hichez and Lilah De León, lit up the stage all night. Their résumés stretch from Cardi B and J Lo to Missy Elliott and even the Brooklyn Nets, and it showed in every move. Intricate yet effortless, their choreography matched Sean Paul’s catalog perfectly, turning each hit into a full-blown spectacle. Paul kept the energy dialed high, constantly engaging the crowd and especially the women in the audience. He pulled them into the spotlight, encouraging singalongs and sparking dance breaks that felt spontaneous and wild. At times, Sean Paul In Vancouver blurred into a throwback nightclub straight out of the early 2000s, with everyone moving like it was their own dance floor.
In Closing
On a personal note, Sean Paul In Vancouver delivered everything I had hoped for and more. This was my first time seeing him live, a show I had been waiting on since my teenage years, and the energy never dipped. The finale hit like a celebration, with confetti raining down as Paul launched into his defining anthem Temperature. The crowd sang so loud it nearly drowned him out, the arena shaking with every chorus. By the time the lights came up, Vancouver was buzzing. Fans spilled out still singing, calling it one of the best nights of the year, and it felt impossible to argue otherwise.
Thank You
I’d like to thank Sean Paul In Vancouver and his team for allowing us to experience his show. I’d also like to thank the PNE Summer Night Concerts for allowing me to capture the night. To find out more on the PNE Concerts, please visit here: PNE Summer Night Concerts
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