Hair bows and maxi skirts flooded 50th Street as thousands of girls lined up outside the world-famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. You could feel the energy in the air as dads took pictures of their daughters outside the venue. Nothing can top this feeling. For many, this will be the highlight of their month and for some, their year. This event, of course, is Gracie Abrams’ “The Secret of Us Tour,” which took to New York City on Oct. 4 and 5 and, after slight delays due to Abrams’ vocal injury, finished out on Oct. 14.
The highly anticipated tour comes in the wake of Abrams’ second studio album, “The Secret of Us,” which was released on June 21, and led the vocalist to experience a lot of never-before-seen success in the industry.
Inside Radio City, there was electricity and joy as everyone entered. Fans waited to purchase merchandise at around six stands, each with half-hour lines. Many stayed in their seats and took photographs. It is the definition of girlhood. Every girl had a bow in her hair — reflecting the singer’s signature bows — and Abrams’ trademark blue Converse could be spotted on the most original of fans. Everyone awaits the tour’s opener, “Role Model,” to take the stage. Jokingly proclaiming himself as different singers, like Ed Sheeran and Sabrina Carpenter before many songs, he got the audience’s energy raised, performing many of his songs like “Deeply Still In Love” and “Frances,” as well as Carpenter’s “Espresso.”
Following her pre-show playlist, including Carpenter’s “Taste,” Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” and Lorde’s “Supercut,” Abrams took the stage. The lights dimmed and the whimsical introduction number, the opening track of the album titled “Felt Good About You” began as Abrams’ silhouette appeared behind the screen. The tinsel and the lighting design of the show added to the whimsy as a large glittering pair of lips sang the first song. Everyone screamed as Abrams stepped out after the number, going on a streak of some of her biggest hits including “Risk,” the lead single of the album, and “Blowing Smoke.” She followed with “21.” You could hear it all over New York when everyone screamed “Sorry!” at maximum volume during the song’s second verse, reflecting one of Abrams’ longest fan traditions. The fifth song in the energetic and magical set was a current favorite and new hit, “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” for which a live version was released on Oct. 11 and then included on the Oct. 16 deluxe album release. The final verse of the song, accompanied by an option-up, brought the crowd into another realm of excitement that most viewers would never have thought possible.
On the first night at the hall, Abrams chose to switch her setlist, adding the (then unreleased) fan favorite, “That’s So True” which was later released on Oct. 16, in exchange for the singer’s least favorite fan-favorite, “Mess It Up.” On the second night, however, she proceeded to reintroduce “Mess It Up” in exchange for a deep cut from her first album titled “Full Machine.” The latter continued through the last two dates of the tour, though it is unclear what will happen when she takes the tour internationally in 2025.
Like many current artists, Abrams implements suspense into all of her shows with her Taylor Swift-style surprise song segment, which makes each show different and keeps every audience on their toes. In New York, these songs included fan-favorite “Rockland” for a fan’s 30th birthday and the deluxe track “Packing It Up,” which was included on the deluxe edition of the album.
On the third night, “Block Me Out,” a popular song from Abrams’ first deluxe album, closed out the run, bringing back waves of nostalgia from the song’s former live performances on the Eras Tour in 2023. Following the segment, Abrams resumed her set with some acoustic songs, like “Good Luck Charlie,” and “I Knew It, I Know You.” The final part of the show picked back up with upbeat hits, new and old, and had the entire crowd dancing to songs like “I Know It Won’t Work,” “Tough Love,” “Feels Like” (the only song represented from her popular EP of a similar name) and “Let It Happen.” Many in the audience cried tears of joy as nostalgic favorites “Friend,” and “I Miss You I’m Sorry” were played, and Abrams introduced her impeccable band prior to playing “Normal Thing” a newer tune. The lighting design and effects of the tour added to the magic, as the glitter on-screen and muted yet colorful tones made it feel like living in a movie. Abrams’ sheer emotion and happiness when speaking to the crowd could be felt.
The show concluded with a cathartic and powerful few songs that, to most of the people there, meant everything. Many fans waited months to be able to sing the bridge to Abrams’ new masterpiece, “Free Now,” and people came from all over to scream the words to Abrams and Swift’s duet, “Us.,” which was formatted as a duet between Abrams and the crowd for the concert. Before playing her final song, Abrams remarked about how she’d “waited seven years” to dance with the crowd to her hit song “Close to You,” which fans convinced her to release after a 2017 TikTok video went viral.
Leaving the venue, the happiness was contagious. The tour encapsulated nostalgia and was perfectly complemented by the visuals displayed. Crowds went from dancing to crying within minutes. In the music industry, it is rare that a tour is correctly timed and performed to lead an audience to be satisfied without getting bored or wanting too much more from a performance, which is something this tour achieved excellently. There is nothing quite like screaming the words with people who know every word to a song that you listen to daily. It is the best feeling.
