In November of 2019, I was able to purchase general admission tickets for Harry Styles’ Love on Tour 2020 during presale, which otherwise would have been a purchase that would have been completely unattainable. Then, no one knew what was to come—a raging virus along with years of quarantining, with eventual vaccines to help the spread.
I waited two years to be able to see Love on Tour live, and what I can say post-concert is: it was a religious experience.
Before the show started, a pre-recorded announcement from Harry was projected into the arena, thanking all of the attendees for going through the proper precautions to attend the show that required prior vaccination or negative COVID test and 100% participation of wearing a mask while in the stadium. There was a mass screech at the sound of his voice. I was honestly shocked that from my own observations, at least 95% of Harry’s fans stayed masked for the entirety of the show. It was as if his announcement hypnotized the PNC Arena, all of us coming together to follow orders from one of our favorite people.
Before the show started, the song “Olivia” by One Direction played overhead. We shouted the lyrics to “Olivia” at the top of our lungs, and like a choir our voices bounced off of the walls and rang throughout the stadium. I have been a fan of One Direction and Harry Styles for eleven years, and had never gotten to see One Direction play—with this fresh experience, suddenly the realization came to me that the majority of these audience members had lived almost identical lives. Every one of us had shared the same love, whether it began eleven years ago at the start of One Direction, or it began by the release of Harry’s first solo album, or even the release of his second. We were all there for one reason, to see Harry Styles play live music along with his band. There was so much Love in one giant room. It was just as it was named, Love on Tour.
I wasn’t sure what to expect once the show started. The lights went out, and we looked on the screens above to see a loud, glowing, yellow beaming sign that read: “Who the F is Jenny Lewis?” I had no idea who she was other than the few songs I had listened to on Spotify before the show. Post-show, I know that the opener, Jenny Lewis, is an excellent performer. She gave Raleigh a night to remember with tarot card visuals, a sassy-rainbow and white western-wear weed outfit, and lots of country songs delving into her 45 years of life. (Also including an amazing song about her dog back at home—how cute!)
Before the concert, I had dyed my hair a bright lime green with a pink undercut, attempting to emulate a watermelon from one of his top singles, “Watermelon Sugar.” Was I a beacon? Absolutely. My friends sent me pictures from their seats, identifying me in the general admission crowd just via my hair. Did Harry notice me? Maybe; I think so—I at least got a lot of pictures of him looking directly into my camera, which was pretty freaking cool.
Love on Tour primarily consisted of songs from Harry’s second album, Fine Line, though he did play some songs from his first album including the intro to “Two Ghosts” along with “Kiwi” and “Carolina” (“Carolina” was of utmost importance, since we were at a show in Raleigh, North Carolina). He cracked a few jokes about the song in relation to the show, “Ohhhhh, Carooooliiiina!”, which made every person in the room lose their minds simultaneously.
Anyone can look up the setlist (it’s a good one) just via Google search, so I won’t go too in depth about the actual show. Though, I believe that the overall visuals and stage presence during “Sunflower, Vol. 6” was one of my favorite moments throughout the performance. The colors were so bright, illuminating the entire stadium. The smile that was spread across Harry’s face while he danced around the stage would light anyone’s eyes up. You can tell while he’s on stage he enjoys every minute of it, which makes the show so much more enjoyable.
There was a moment where Harry got emotional about the support that we as a fanbase had given to him, especially over the past two years of the pandemic—one of the hardest experiences for pretty much all of us. He left us with a reminder to tell the people we love that we love them. We don’t know how much time we have with anyone (as his step-dad recently passed away). His tears were matched in the room. We all understood and empathized with one another. It was another moment of pure understanding, of Harry hive-mind.
Without giving too much away, if you’re lucky enough to catch part of this tour, I would definitely suggest copping a ticket. This show honestly did change my life, and filled me with so much joy to see this person that I’ve watched grow up through a screen in person. It was worth every cent and every second. Even if you cannot get a ticket to see Love on Tour, remember to spread love and treat people with kindness. You never know who’s going to need it.
