Big Time Rush at Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on August 20, 2025.
Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor Nicole Pollock
Oklahoma City came together to fangirl over Big Time Rush when they brought their In Real Life Worldwide Tour to The Zoo Amphitheater.
Stephen Glickman kicked off the music while fans were still piling in. His set felt like an in-real-life singalong with lots of popular hits. Anybody who didn’t know the name Stephen Glickman could immediately recognize him as soon as they saw him. He had a big role in the Big Time Rush show playing Gustavo Rocque. Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” opened his set, the familiar tune got people up on their feet. Then he and the audience belted out “Mr. Brightside.” Glickman announced that he had released his own cover album and that he was selling it on vinyl in the merch booth. He had taken the time to write, sign, and even doodle on all of the vinyls making each one unique. He also gave Oklahoma a little shoutout and then sang part of “Oklahoma” from the musical, reminding us all that he was a theater kid. We all became the 2021 version of ourselves when Glickman and his band performed Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license.” There is something so special about singing songs like “drivers license” with a crowd of people that size, which is exactly how it felt when the band closed out with Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.”
Before we knew it, Katelyn Tarver took the stage. She played the character Jo Taylor on the Big Time Rush show and is widely known as the original Worldwide girl. Tarver continued her music career after the show and has released music of her own. Her bubbly personality kept her performance light and her talent filled the whole stage. During this tour, Tarver has made tour tees where each t-shirt has different text and is special to whatever city she is in. Oklahoma City’s tour tee was an acrostic of “OKC” with “Kate” coming from the K. After her performance she changes and then gives that tour tee to someone in the audience. Tarver plans to continue growing her own music career while always being remembered as Jo.
The stage crew was moving fast resulting in only 15-20 minutes between every performance. I think that this was to give Big Time Rush enough time to perform every single song from the show, a long set needs a lot more time. It was nice not having to stand around and wait between artists. The stage was set up with ramps and stage platforms at different levels for lots of movement throughout the show.
We heard the familiar first notes of the Big Time Rush theme song and the opening credits from the TV show were displayed on the screen. By the end of the song, all 4 boys were on stage. They announced that their musical director, Cody Perrin, plays the guitar in their band for this tour. At one point, they brought out Stephen Glickman to play piano for an acoustic set where they all took turns singing different songs as he played the keys. They seemed to be in character all evening, joking with each other and interrupting each other over the microphones.
About halfway through their setlist, there was a B stage put together in the middle of the crowd. With the special lighting and placement of the stage, this felt more acoustic and intimate. The BTR boys brought out Katelyn Tarver to sing a song with them before they all headed back to the main stage. On their way to the main stage, each member chose a girl out of the crowd for their “Worldwide Girl” segment. Four fans get to join the band on stage and sing with them for the song “Worldwide Girl.”
The night felt very nostalgic for those of us who grew up on the show. An emotional montage of old videos from the TV show and past tours was played. There were lots of references to the TV show throughout the set but also within the audience with fans dressed up as very specific parts from the TV show. The Big Time Rush boys were so interactive with the crowd that they were almost a part of it. We got to experience boy band choreography and the color coordinated outfit changes. One of the best things about this tour is that no matter what your favorite Big Time Rush song is, they performed it.
Photos by The Pit Magazine photographer Nicole Pollock in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ©2025.
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