Unlike most avid concert goers, we eagerly purchased our tickets to Harry Styles’s Love on Tour in the height of Covid-19. When we heard that one of our favorite artists was postponing his highly anticipated 2020 tour to late 2021, we took the opportunity to claim tickets that had been sold out before. We were hopeful that by the time of the rescheduled concert, Covid-19 would be a long gone problem. 

Throughout lockdown, people all over the world indulged in new TV shows, movies, and especially music. Harry Styles’s Fine Line was both healing and refreshing in a time where it was hard to be optimistic with cases rising and more rigid safety protocols being enforced. The album’s messages of finding happiness, recovering from grief, and finding a balance between the light and dark in life could not have been more timely than in light of the past year and a half. With all the positivity Fine Line brought into our lives, we knew we wanted to see it live. Beyond the music, we were eagerly excited to see what the different shows would bring. As someone who is quite well known for his whimsical fashion sense, we knew the looks for the tour were going to be undeniably impressive. Seeing Tik Toks that shared his various vibrant colored jumpsuits, a classic, we were anxiously anticipating his outfit for our concert.

Almost 18 months after buying the tickets, the day of the concert arrived. Conveniently scheduled on a Monday night, we all crammed homework for both Monday and Tuesday into our weekend plans to account for the concert. After a rainy car drive into the city, we showed up at TD Garden three and a half hours before Harry’s opening set. We made our way through bedazzled crowds of mostly teenagers and young adults fully decked out in boas, cowboy hats, suits, jumpsuits, and heart-shaped sunglasses. The concert looked pretty different from pre-Covid times: people had to present vaccination cards or a negative Covid test to be allowed to enter, everybody inside was wearing a mask, and there were large air purifiers around the venue. This is probably the new norm for post-Covid concerts, yet we didn’t feel that it took much away from the experience. 

Waiting in line for merch and sitting in the arena listening to songs like “Olivia” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” took up the rest of our time before Jenny Lewis opened the concert. With a tambourine and a full length sequined dress, she had incredible stage presence during songs like “Puppy and a Truck” and “Just One of the Guys.” Following her set, crew members took a little more time to ready the stage in preparation for the moment everybody had been waiting for.

Harry Styles rose through the stage in a cream shirt and baby blue trousers paired with suspenders. His band complemented his outfit in pantsuits sharing the same shade of blue. Opening with “Golden,” TD Garden went insane and stayed insane for the remainder of his 90-minute show. The tracklist contained the entirety of Fine Line, some songs off his debut album Harry Styles, and the classic One Direction throwback “What Makes You Beautiful.” The energy in the arena was high all night long — we didn’t sit down once during the show even when the fifteen-minute dance segment of “Treat People with Kindness” and radio regular “Watermelon Sugar” left everybody breathless. The setting added a lot to the energy in the room — the lighting was incredible and evidently tailored to each song. The audience was loud and very enthusiastic, from people throwing hats and flags onto the stage to everybody turning flashlights on during “Lights Up.” The versatility of the setlist was invigorating. Following a series of high energy pieces, the audience swayed to ballads such as “Falling,” “Fine Line,” and “Sign of the Times.”

As the final notes of “Kiwi” echoed throughout the arena and the band began to exit the stage, we were all numbed by how memorable the show had been. After leaving TD Garden and fighting our way through post-concert Boston traffic, we attempted to remedy any post-concert depression with McNuggets and fries. Sitting in the parking lot of a 24-hour McDonald’s, one couldn’t help but feel intensely grateful for the opportunity to attend a concert live again, made possible by new norms. The concert was truly awe-inspiring. If Harry Styles ever tours again, you can most definitely count on us being there. 

Tess Farr ’22, Managing Copy Editor and Spandana Vagwala ’22, Co-Editor-in-Chief

22tfarr@montroseschool.org

22svagwala@montroseschool.org