Jonas Brothers Reflect on 20 Years of Music (And Share Their Thoughts on a ‘Bounce’ Part 2)

Joe, Nick and Kevin spoke with Billboard about their favorite memories over the past two decades, what to expect from their JONAS20: LIVING THE DREAM tour and more while backstage at the first-ever…

This is an S.O.S. — the Jonas Brothers are turning 20, and they’re celebrating in a massive way.

To kick it all off, thousands of fans gathered at New Jersey’s American Dream Mall on Sunday (March 23) for the first-ever JONASCON, a free fan event filled with performances, surprise guests, themed activations (like G.I. Jonas laser tag and Jonas Pizza), branded merch and much more. Joe, Nick and Kevin were of course in attendance — making multiple appearances throughout the mall all day long. It was a full-circle experience for the three brothers from Jersey — whose first performances ever (before they became who we know now as “the Jonas Brothers”) were in this same mall, but to much smaller audiences.

“This is, in a lot of ways, is 20 years in the making, and just a culmination of a lot of things going right and a lot of people believing in us,” Nick tells Billboard about the event right before their first performance of the day at Jonas Beach, which took place at the mall’s DreamWorks Water Park.

Later in the day, the Brothers welcomed previously-announced performers, The All-American Rejects and Franklin Jonas, to the stage, but also had several other surprises up their sleeves. Big Time Rush traveled to Jersey for a mall-ready performance of “Boyfriend,” while Camp Rock cast members M Dot, Meaghan Martin, and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle joined podcasters Chicks in the Office on stage for a surprise chat down memory lane.

During their final keynote performance, Joe, Nick and Kevin treated fans to a slew of other special announcements — meaning much more for fans to get excited about for the band’s 20^th year. The band revealed that their next studio album, Greetings From Your Hometown, will arrive on Aug. 8. They also announced the release date for Joe’s long-awaited solo album, Music For People Who Believe in Love, on May 23, their Disney+ film A Very Jonas Christmas (arriving later this year), a new song celebrating Disneyland’s 70^th anniversary, a London Live album (out June 13) and a new song in collaboration with ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball called “I Can’t Lose.”

Even with so much to look forward to in their 20^th year, the lessons they’ve learned aren’t lost on them —  and they hope to pass on what they’ve learned to the next generation.

“I think speaking to any musicians and artists, really believe in your craft and what you’re creating. We had people around us that really lifted us up and [let us] go in the studio and create them. It’s important to have that, because even after time, 20 years later, people are still gonna have opinions,” Joe tells Billboard. “You have to be able to just remember that: This is why you love it, and you create something for yourself.”