PHOTOS: Howard Jones outlasts rain to cap rocking 1980s night at Artpark

by jmaloni

Sat, Aug 15th 2026 07:45 am

Review and additional photos by Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Main Howard Jones photo: credit Jeff Tracy Photography

With darkened skies tossing steady rain Thursday night – and headliner Howard Jones yet to perform – fans at Artpark surely thought, “Things can only get better.”

Alas, a thousand skeptic hands wouldn’t keep them from the things they planned and, clinging to the things they prize – perhaps feeling a little scared – they didn't stop and falter. Any concerns about a show stoppage, well they threw it all away. For just as the acclaimed British rocker took the stage, Mother Nature said, “I love you even if you think that I don't.” And with that, the show carried on sans showers.

In fact, it was a stellar night of 1980s-themed music at the Lewiston performing and visual arts venue. Starting with host Richard Blade of SiriusXM and his year-by-year quiz of top new-wave hits, continuing with support from Modern English, English Beat and Wang Chung – and their own chart-toppers (“I Melt With You,” “Save It For Later,” “Mirror In The Bathroom,” “Dance Hall Days,” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”) – and concluding with Jones, the show was one of the best Artpark has offered this summer.

Jones’ set included his biggest singles, including “Life In One Day,” “Like To Get To Know You Well,” “New Song” and “What Is Love?”. It included costume changes, visual effects, and expanded versions of “No One Is To Blame” plus the song for which the tour was named: “Things Can Only Get Better.”

Howard Jones on stage at the Artpark Outdoor Amphitheater in Lewiston.

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Prior to the show, Jones shared with this writer, “It's like a real mix of the classic Ho-Jo stuff and then new things, and some of my favorites … and things that work live. I don't put too many slow songs in there, because I like to keep the energy up for the whole set. And then we will change things, because we've got a lot of stuff under our belt that we can play at any time. Some surprises and some familiar things. That's what I like to give out.”

Jone said, “I have the most brilliant lighting designer, Jens (Lange), who's from Denmark, and we've worked together now for over 10 years. We’ve got a great light show.

“I'm sort of more focusing on lights these days, than screens, because I find everyone's watching a screen all the time. Like, go to a gig, and maybe it should be a bit different at a gig where you don't have to watch a screen. I sometimes feel that can be distracting from the music, and also the people that are on the stage that are really interesting – it's so interesting to watch them. I mean, a little bit of video now and again is OK, but I'm leaning more that way towards a great light show.”

Jones explained “live music now has become the focus” for people looking for something different. “Because – especially with AI and things like that, where things can be copied and mashed together and approximating other artists and things – the one place where it could be very real and authentic is to go to a gig, and you can share this experience with thousands of other people. I think this is why live music is bigger than it's ever been, at the moment, because people are craving that experience of being together, singing along, and enjoying the sort of jeopardy of live, which is, it could go wrong at any moment. You could fall over or hit a really terrible bomb note. There's this excitement at a live show that you can't get watching a TV thing.”

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