The House of Blues went dark at 9 p.m. on March 28, causing the audience to grow quiet in anticipation. But as those first few recognizable notes to Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” started playing, the crowd was anything but.
There was one line to get into the venue on Saturday night and it spanned around the block, past the Boston Love Lock bridge, and down into a side street. In it everyone had visibly dressed up in fun, colorful, summer-themed clothes. Despite the length of the line, I was able to enter the venue 15 minutes after the doors opened at 7 p.m.
The pop singer had kicked off her tour in October of last year for her fifth studio album, Midnight Sun. While Larsson had always been in the public eye, after her hit album, So Good, her popularity began to dwindle. While hits like “Love Me Land” and “Can’t Tame Her” kept her prominent, it wasn’t until her single “Midnight Sun” pushed her back into the spotlight. Additionally, the resurgence of her song, “Symphony”, gained traction on TikTok and made her name one that people immediately recognized.
Opening for Larsson was up-and-coming singer-songwriter Amelia Moore, who had stepped into the spotlight in 2022 on TikTok for her song, “Next Door”. She graced the stage at 8 p.m. in office attire, a tribute to her new musical era. The stage was covered in stacks of papers in which she waded through while singing 11 of her most popular tracks, such as “i feel everything” and her most recent song, “Prom Queen”. Additionally, Moore warmed up the crowd by singing “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande and “Folded” by Kehlani.
An hour later, the cool-toned lights and background music were all turned off and the start of Larsson’s set began.
The set started with flashing lights and heavy bass lines. Then, the stage lit up and Larsson appeared in the center, singing a couple of lines from her record-breaking hit, “Lush Life”. My adrenaline was through the roof as I watched her serenade the crowd with her vocals. Her outfit was an ethereal blue and her makeup was a dazzling mosaic of colors.
After stellar performances of “Midnight Sun” and “Blue Moon”, “Pretty Ugly” was up next. It was preceded by a cute and fun introduction of all of the dancers, where each dancer got their turn to sing and dance to a rhyme about themselves. After each girl got her time to shine, Larsson emerged back onto the stage in a glitzy orange two-piece and the song officially began. The choreo for this song was noticeably bolder due to the song’s more aggressive nature and had an enjoyably fiercer energy than the previous tracks. Halfway through, Larsson brought the audience together by doing a long call-and-response segment, asking us to repeat phrases like “I’m so pretty” or “I can get ugly”. She then continued the song before following it up with another loud song of hers, “Ain’t My Fault”.
“Ain’t My Fault” was an entirely different vibe compared to the rest of the tour; after the first chorus a new instrumental began playing and the whole venue went blood red with the strong stage lights. Once singer and rapper Sexyy Red’s voice came through the speakers, one of Larsson’s most hyped-up dance breaks during the tour began, merging the song with Red’s “Looking For The H*es (Ain’t My Fault)”. Larsson and her crew flawlessly moved to the beat and the crowd went crazy.
After having performed several other jaw dropping songs, Larsson took a break to give a heartfelt speech reflecting on her journey through music. She walked the audience through the unhealthy mindset she held as a naive 17-year-old and how much she’s grown from it. The speech was so honest, and many fans may be able to find themselves relating to her message. Larsson expressed her gratitude towards everyone in the audience for being there and supporting her, using the moment to transition to one of her more emotional songs, “Saturn’s Return”. The song highlights her growth as a person and the challenges she faced in order to become the person she is now.
The melancholic energy didn’t last for long as after her third and final costume change of the night into her iconic bedazzled “surfer’s jacket”, Larsson wastes no time going into the next danceable song, “Crush”. This track had beautiful choreography and elicited a very loud sing-along from the entirety of the audience. The songs raw and honest feelings about love, layered on top of beautiful harmonies make it one of my favorite tracks off of Midnight Sun.
It was then time for the most anticipated part of the show, “Lush Life”. The Lush Life dance is a segment of the tour that takes place during her song “Lush Life”, where she takes a break right before the last chorus in order to interact with the audience. The segment includes her picking someone from the floor to come up on stage and not only get a shirt spray painted with a drawing of their choice, but to dance along to the last verse of the song onstage. The person picked for the Boston show was a young man named Jordan from New York, and after picking a dolphin to be drawn on his shirt, flawlessly executed the dance. I, along with the rest of the crowd, followed along in my spot in the audience.
Finally, she closes off the show with another surprising, yet hugely popular song,”Symphony”. This track is beautifully symbolic as it is the very song that brought conversation back around her name and is now the one to close off her show, making it a very full circle moment. It’s an amazing feeling to be surrounded by people who are having just as much fun as you are, and the whole crowd was dancing their heart out. The stage was glowing with rainbow colors and the dancers and crew were all beaming. Halfway through the song, the crew at the venue threw dolphin floaties into the crowd and bubble guns were brought out onstage. It was all a mess of excitement and joy.
With the conclusion of “Symphony”, brought the conclusion of the tour. All of the girls with flowers in their hair, the boys wearing airbrushed shirts, and even the parents who were dragged along felt the same, happy. The concert brought so much joy to everybody there, and despite the typical feeling of sadness that it was over creeping in, the fun I had at the concert was sufficient enough to fight it back.
If you were a fan of Fancy Some More? by PinkPantheress, Carly Rae Jepsen’s The Loveliest Time, or Tove Lo’s Heat, listen to Midnight Sun for a body of work with similar electronic instrumentals and fun lyrics. Additionally, check out Shakira’s concert, the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour happening this July for a show with the same energy!
9.7/10
