It was the concert of my high school dreams. Songs I once played incessantly throughout my teenage years were no longer on warbled cassette tapes in my boom box, they were being performed live on a beautiful evening at Red Butte Garden.

Now I wasn’t belting out my favorite Howard Jones and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark songs in my bedroom while my brother and sister pounded on the door begging me to stop singing. On Wednesday night I was surrounded by thousands of fellow fans who were singing right alongside me.

Some of my most beloved memories from my teenage years — school and church dances, John Hughes’ movie marathons, cruising through town on a Friday night — can be traced to songs like “Everlasting Love” by Howard Jones, or “If You Leave” by OMD from the movie “Pretty in Pink.”

The evening’s performances kicked off with a non-stop set of hits from Howard Jones. “Pearl in the Shell” was followed by “Like to Get to Know You Well,” that was followed by “Everlasting Love” and then “Life in One Day.” It didn’t take too long for those in the crowd to jump up from their lawn seats and start dancing along to the new wave beats.

Utahns love Howard Jones and the feeling is mutual as “HoJo” frequently performs on stages throughout the state. After performing “What is Love,” he restated his affection for the Beehive State. “I love Utah,” he said. “You always make me feel at home.”

His opening set concluded with “New Song” and “Things Can Only Get Better.”

OMD took stage just a few minutes later, again performing all its best-loved hits in rapid-fire succession. “Enola Gay,” “Secret” “Tesla Girls,” from the movie “Weird Science,” and “History of Modern” all had audience members busting out their favorite ’80s dance moves.

And then the flood of memories came rushing back to my 42-year-old brain as OMD performed “If You Leave,” one of the most popular songs of my teenage years, the anthem from one of the most popular movies from my teenage years. “Pretty in Pink” was on constant rotation in the VCR in my home as I dreamed of being as fashionable as Andi while wishing I, too, had a Duckie as a best friend.

The hits continued as OMD performed “Forever Live and Die” from its “Pacific Age” album, “Maid of Orleans” and “So in Love.”

As the band performed “Dreaming,” memories of all those high school stomps and church regional dances filled my mind as I happily belted out the lyrics. The set wrapped up with the high-energy “Locomotion” and “Electricity,” perfect songs to get the crowd pumped up and ready for the headliner.

After enjoying that wonderful blast from my high school past, it was time to celebrate the ’90s and my college years with hits from Barenaked Ladies.

Known for their crazy on-stage antics, quirky lyrics and impromptu songwriting, Barenaked Ladies’ Wednesday night performance was no different. Songs ranging from all their hit albums, including an obscure but adorable children’s album, were performed.

Kicking off their set with “Testing 1, 2, 3,” one of their newer songs from the 2003 album “Everything to Everyone,” they flashed back to their first album “Gordon” from 1992 with the hit “Hello City,” a song they likely sang when they first performed Utah in 1993 at the then-popular Club DV8.

Breaking from their setlist, the clever songwriters quickly jumped into rap mode as they freestyled a little ditty prompted by the plants at the lush Red Butte Garden — “Twisted Lavender and Rubber Rabbitbrush” proved quite inspiring.

Amid the occasional freestyle raps, BNL sang favorites like “It’s All Been Done,” “Brian Wilson” and “Gonna Walk.”

Then, after complimenting the evening’s opening acts, they mentioned how Howard Jones neglected to perform one of his biggest hits. Luckily, they invited him out on stage, and together they performed the beloved “No One is to Blame” to huge applause.

Barenaked Ladies continued to perform from their long list of hits from the ’90s and 2000s, including the popular songs known for their rapid-fire lyrics. “Pinch Me” and “One Week” were great fun to sing along to, or stutter along to as everyone tried to keep up with the quirky lyrics.

Singalong time continued, even louder, as the crowd joined in with “If I Had $1,000,000.”

Rounding out its set, the band performed a clever mix of songs, everything from the classic “Lean on Me,” to Flo Rida’s “My House.” to Justin Beiber’s “Love Yourself,” to Rihanna’s “Work.” The fun continued with samples from Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and even a little snippet from “Sesame Street’s” skit “Near … Far.”

Encore performances, again, showcased the band members’ freestyle fun as they sang about allergies, appropriate for the botanical garden setting. A cover of “Sedated” and the band’s popular conclusion “Alcohol” concluded the sold-out show.

A wonderful evening of flashback music set amid a gorgeous garden setting sure does make for an incredible evening.