It’s a Monday night and Gracie Abrams is flipping through a red leather journal filled with songs. She’s in her childhood bedroom, complete with a rocketship-patterned bedspread and a copy of Lizzy McAlpine’s Older on display. But she’s not at home; the bedroom is a replica. Abrams is actually sitting dead-centre at New York’s Madison Square Garden during the first of two sold-out shows. “This is beyond every single dream I’ve ever had, I can’t even tell you,” Abrams tells the crowd.
It’s the understatement of the year. The bedroom Abrams has replicated is the same one where, as an upstart singer-songwriter five years ago, she first performed her 2020 Minor EP during pandemic-era shows she livestreamed over Zoom. With each earnest lyric and low-key performance since, Abrams gradually captured the hearts of Gen Z women around the world. By the time she released her 2023 debut album, Good Riddance, the star had already nabbed opening-act slots for Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
“It feels like the most ridiculous master class known to man,” Abrams told Rolling Stone before opening for Swift’s Eras Tour. “I’m going to learn so much keeping my head down and listening and watching her do what she was put here to do.” And that she did. The Eras Tour saw Abrams transform from a breathy, understated vocalist into an acoustic-guitar-wielding goddess with a slew of emotion-packed songs. Since then, the singer-songwriter released her breakout album, The Secret of Us, and its even more successful deluxe version. Last year, Abrams embarked on her largest headlining tour yet, selling out three nights at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Now, for her current tour, Abrams has leveled up to sold-out arenas.
From the moment she took the stage wearing a sparkling, lime-green low-waist skirt and matching halter top, the singer couldn’t hide her glee at playing MSG. She kept smirking, even as she delivered lines like “I feel like I could die” (from “Risk”) and concurrently strummed an acoustic guitar.
Abrams swapped out her acoustic guitar for an electric semi-hollowbody Gibson throughout the night, and sometimes even abandoned the instrument altogether as she paced on a raised runway behind the stage. But the main thing you have to know about a Gracie Abrams concert is there are no wardrobe changes, outsized production sets, or buttoned-up choreography.
Instead, there are hundreds of bow-wearing fans willing to push the limits of their vocal chords as they scream each lyric like their life depends on it. I’m not talking about just for the set list closers, either. There was full-blown yelling for Every. Single. Song. (At one point, girls in the row behind me complained about losing their voices before Abrams could even whip out her most popular tunes.)
This isn’t just for the hell of it, either. From the third song into the show, “21,” it was clear these heart-torn melodies hold special connections for each fan. On “21,” fans squealed “sorry” in unison as Abrams reached high into her register. But the singer’s efforts were futile; the fans’ screams were so loud, they drowned her out.
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Nowhere was the deep-rooted fan connection with Abrams’ brutally honest catalog more apparent than on “Let It Happen,” a Swiftian track with an explosive bridge. When it got to that point in the song, the singer urged the already-wailing fans: “I want to hear this bridge, all right?” They obeyed her like good pupils and didn’t fumble a single lyric. Fans even knew every word to the unreleased synth-pop track “Out of Nowhere,” which Abrams debuted at her Glastonbury set just last month.
In response to the roaring fans, the singer made sure to put them front and center. She walked through the crowd to two separate smaller stages on the floor, stopping to say hi to everyone she could along the way. While singing “Tough Love,” Abrams spotted a fan’s poster that read “Write out ‘Let It Happen.’” Without missing a beat, Abrams took a Sharpie and scribbled several different options for the song title.
Just before launching into TSOU Deluxe track “Cool,” Abrams asked, “This is a safe space to say it … is anyone in a situationship of sorts?” Not only did the audience respond emphatically, they sang about love interests not calling back with a palpable anger.
Beyond the cathartic sing-alongs that made the massive venue feel intimate, one of the highlights of the night was Role Model’s surprise duet for “Mess It Up.” The opening act, whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury, performed the deep cut to a crowd that somehow managed to raise its decibel level higher than when he took the stage earlier that night. (It was the most excited I’d ever seen a Garden crowd for an opener.) For his solo set, Pillsbury turned the charm offensive all the way up, shimmying his hips as he sang twangy love songs. The highlight, of course, was his celebrity guest for crowd-favorite “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” which was none other than Natalie Portman.
While Abrams’ viral TikTok hits like “That’s So True” and “Close to You” got their massive, end-of-the-night moments, they weren’t even the biggest of the evening. Sure it was a treat to hear several audience members try to conjure a surprise Taylor Swift appearance with their whispers. (The superstar is featured on fan-favorite track “Us”). Sure, the crowd jumped so hard, I swear the Garden shook as confetti rained down during the final song.
But it was the moment on the tiny C stage, tucked at the very edge of the MSG floor, where Abrams shined the brightest on Monday night. As the singer delivered lyrics about reflecting on her success, video clips of fans from her past shows played on the screen. “I feel like myself right now,” Abrams sang, and the line hit so hard, several fans had tears streaming down their faces. After all, these devoted attendees know better than anyone that the singer-songwriter has trekked through New York clubs for the past four years, growing her audience with each performance.
“Sept. 22, 2021, was the first show we ever played in New York, and it was at Mercury Lounge,” Abrams said. “Now, because of you, we get to be here for two sold-out nights. I just want you to know that all of us were backstage pinching ourselves and each other. You’ve done this for us. You’re the whole point, you’re the reason.”
Set List
“Risk”
“Blowing Smoke”
“21”
“I Love You, I’m Sorry”
“Where Do We Go Now?”
“Death Wish”
“Normal Thing”
“Mess It Up”
“Packing It Up”
“Full Machine”
“I Told You Things”
“Out Of Nowhere”
“Let It Happen”
“Tough Love”
“Alright”
“Cool”
“I Miss You, I’m Sorry”
“Right Now”
“Free Now”
“Us”
“That’s So True”
“Close to You”
From Rolling Stone US
