Concerts
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It’s been 13 years since reggae and dancehall legend Buju Banton last performed in the U.S. Watching the icon dance and belt his way through a 90-minute set at New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday night (July 14), it was nearly impossible to believe that much time has passed. Buju’s Sunday night show — his […]
Pest problems. Piano problems. Taylor Swift had to stop performing mid-song over a couple unexpected, but funny, incidents during her acoustic set in Milan, Italy, on Saturday and Sunday (July 13-14).
“Swallowed another one,” Swift dryly remarked to a loud, supportive audience Saturday night in Milan, accepting her fate when a bug flew into her mouth while on stage for the surprise song section at San Siro Stadium.
The pop icon — no stranger to an unfortunate run-in with a bug on an international tour that’s made its way to many an outdoor stadium — wasn’t surprised. “I knew it would happen ’cause there’s so many bugs here tonight,” she told the crowd, pausing for a moment and then explaining the protocol: “I just need to cough a little bit.”
She was sitting at the piano, playing a rather sad and angry Red-era mashup of “I Almost Do” and “The Moment I Knew,” when the insect intruder interfered with her art.
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That mashup on the keys on Saturday followed “The 1″/“Wonderland” on acoustic guitar. (“I’ve never done this in the acoustic section before,” Swift revealed of “The 1,” the opener of Folklore. The song used to be on the main Eras Tour set list, but lost its place when Swift reworked the long-running show to include selections from her newest album, the 31-track collection The Tortured Poets Department, the reigning No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
On Sunday, Swift’s acoustic guitar surprise was a mashup of “Mr. Perfectly Fine” and “Red”; her piano surprise Sunday night was “Getaway Car” with “Out of the Woods,” but she didn’t get very far with that one before noticing something was not quite right with her piano.
“You know what, we finally broke it. We have finally broken this thing,” quipped Swift while someone from her tech crew swiftly helped fix the issue with the Eras instrument.
The star still had trouble closing its top, but celebrated once she got it shut: “I did it!” she squealed, and with a grin got back to performing, starting the song again: “No, nothing good starts in a getaway car.”
In planned surprises from Milan that also had fans talking over the weekend, Swift debuted three Eras Tour costumes: new dresses for her Fearless and Tortured Poets eras of the concert on Saturday, and a new gown for the show’s Speak Now moment on Sunday.
For Fearless, she took the stage in a new, shimmering black-and-gold number (pictured at the top of this article, and in motion in the short concert video below) that was a fun fit for such a big sing-along part of show. The look also calls back to the aesthetic of Swift’s Reputation, fans noticed, feeling a bit Gatsby in design while also reminding Swifties of this bodysuit from the Reputation Tour.
Swift’s new Tortured Poets costume, seen in the image below, is of the same design as her previous one — but with new lyrics written around its skirt. Instead of words from the album’s title track, the updated version of the white Vivienne Westwood dress features lyrics from Swift’s rage-filled “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” “You should be,” it reminds those watching.
And on Sunday, Swift performed “Enchanted,” the one Speak Now song that has a permanent place in the Eras set, in a new ballgown in a color that can best be described as Speak Now purple. Check out a fan’s collage of Swift’s sparkly Speak Now gown collection from The Eras Tour.
See highlights from Swift’s weekend in Milan with the surprise song performance clips embedded below. Next up on the hitmaker’s Europe itinerary, she’ll get to visit Germany, bringing the summer Eras Tour to the cities of Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg and Munich.
Feid has wrapped his 2024 Ferxxocalipsis Tour with his first-ever stadium concert at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla., on Saturday (July 6).
The evening celebrations began as early as 6 p.m. ET as the venue live streamed the Copa America Colombia vs. Panama game via a large screen outside. Shortly after the match ended, where Colombia won 5-0 and qualified for the semi-finals, the official DJs of Perro Negro (a popular nightclub in Colombia) pumped up the crowd inside with a 40-minute set of pure reggaeton bangers.
At the venue, Feid offered fans the ultimate tour experience that went beyond nifty merch: there were themed photo booths, monster trucks, and even a karaoke corner.
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The Colombian artist officially kicked off his performance at 9:45 p.m. after a nearly three-minute cartoon-inspired intro, in which he told his fans to relax because “the show was about to start.”
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Wearing a black and neon green running vest, denim shorts and his signature white sunglasses, the artist sang “Alakran,” “50 Palos,” “Chimbita,” “Lady Mi Amor” and “Castigo.” “Hello, mor [love], how are you? We’re going to parchar [party] in Miami with el Ferxxo,” he said, greeting the packed venue.
Feid delivered nearly 40 of his hits, back-to-back, from “Bubalu” to “El Cielo” to “Prohibidox” to “Porfa” to “Feliz Cumpleaños, Ferxxo” to “Monastery” and beyond. The crowd’s reaction to each song was notable; a primarily Gen Z audience chanted every lyric at the top of their lungs, even the latest releases like “Brickell,” “Luces de Tecno” and “Sorry 4 That Much.”
The stage’s concept — which included 18 large LED panels, cartoon images and industrial stairs — took fans to Feid’s own imaginary city, one that’s dark and mysterious, but vibrant and thrilling. His fellow companions were guitarist Pedro Mejía, DJ SEBAXXSS and background singer Mariana, who’s also his cousin.
After two outfit changes, all following his green-and-white aesthetic, the Colombian act sang hits such as “Le Pido a Dios,” for which he was joined by surprise guest DJ Premier, “Normal,” “Ferxxo100,” “Hey Mor” and “Classy 101″ before closing the show five minutes past midnight with the EDM-influenced “Luna.”
“Good night, Miami. This is Ferxxo’s first stadium [show],” he reminded the crowd with a smile from ear-to-ear. “Thank you for being here tonight.”
Taylor Swift fans know they’re in for a good time when the Eras Tour mastermind says from the stage, “I’m gonna do one that I’ve never played live before.” Those were the words from Swift’s red lips Friday night (July 5) in Amsterdam, where she debuted “imgonnagetyouback” live during her acoustic set at Johan Cruyff Arena.
“imgonnagetyouback,” the sexy Anthology track about luring in an old flame (found on the 31-song edition of The Tortured Poets Department) starts off with Swift setting the scene: “Lilac short skirt, the one that fits me like skin.” She soon asserts, “I’ll tell you one thing, honey/ I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean.”
“Whether I’m gonna be your wife, or/ Gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet/ But I’m gonna get you back,” goes the “imgonnagetyouback” chorus. “Whether I’m gonna curse you out or/ Take you back to my house, I haven’t decidеd yet/ But I’m gonna get you back.”
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“I hear thе whispers in your eyes/ I’ll make you wanna think twice/ You’ll find that you were never not mine/ You’re mine,” sang Swift on the Amsterdam stage, acoustic guitar in hand.
In the surprise song section of Swift’s Friday night show, when the hitmaker played “Imgonnagetyouback” live for the first time ever, she made the song even spicier by connecting it to Reputation slow jam “Dress.”“Say my name and everything just stops/ I don’t want you like a best friend/ Only bought this dress so you could take it off/ Take it off, ah, ah, ah,” she sang in the flirty mashup, making her way from “Dress” back to the “imgonnagetyouback” bridge: “I can feel it coming, humming in the way you move/ Push the reset button, we’re becomin’ something new/ Say you got somebody, I’ll say I got someone too/ Even if it’s handcuffed, I’m leavin’ here with you.”
Post-guitar performance, Swift followed with a love story on piano.
She sang the delicate “You Are in Love,” a deluxe track from the 1989 era, weaved into the dreamy “Cowboy Like Me,” from Evermore.
“You can hear it in the silence/ You can feel it on the way home/ You can see it with the lights out/ You are in love, true love,” Swift reflected from “You are in Love,” before singing about falling for “a cowboy like me.”
“Now you hang from my lips, like the Gardens of Babylon/ With your boots beneath my bed, forever is the sweetest con,” she mused. “You had some tricks up your sleeve/ Takes one to know one.”Tying the two moments together, she sang, “But you can hear it in the silence/ You can feel it on the way home/ You can see it with the lights out/ You’re a cowboy like me, and you were in love.”
The pop icon, whose The Tortured Poets Department album holds steady at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, has now debuted most of her latest collection’s tracks live on tour. Which songs from the set have yet to get stage time? “So Long, London,” “Florida!!!” feat. Florence + The Machine, “Cassandra” and “Robin.”
Watch Swift’s July 5 surprise song clips, captured by fans at Friday night’s Amsterdam show, below.
Pepe Aguilar is all about tradition, Mexican pride and family, and that’s exactly what takes centerstage at his Jaripeo Hasta Los Huesos Tour.
With back-to-back performances by the Aguilar dynasty, including Antonio Aguilar Jr. (Pepe’s brother), and Leonardo and Ángela Aguilar (Pepe’s children), the show is an homage to the legendary Don Antonio Aguilar, who pioneered the jaripeo-style spectacle back in the ’60s alongside singer and actress Flor Silvestre, his wife and mother to Pepe and Antonio Jr.
“Antonio was a visionary,” Pepe said about his father on Friday, July 5, during a tour stop in Chicago’s Allstate Arena. “To present my family and culture in this way is honestly the best. I don’t do these shows for the money. It’s to honor my parents and pride for my culture.”
Pepe and his son Leonardo further honored Don Antonio by singing “Bandido de Amores,” his collaboration with another late legend, Joan Sebastian, originally recorded more than 30 years ago. The new version, included in Leonardo’s Soy Como Quiero Ser, a tribute album to Sebastian, most recently hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Regional Mexican Airplay chart (dated July 6).
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Before singing it alongside Leonardo, Pepe explained the backstory of how the original collaboration came about. “My dad and Joan didn’t get along,” he said candidly. “But I made them get together for a song. I had to do it. I mean I really admired Joan and, well, Antonio was my dad. And now, 30 years later, I record it with my son, and now it’s No. 1 thanks to you all.”
Leonardo and Antonio Jr. each performed a set of approximately 30 minutes before Ángela took the stage to a roaring crowd, riding a majestic white horse as she wore a gorgeous, long black dress adorned with pink, orange and yellow flowers. She sang “Que Agonía” and the fan-favorite “Dime Como Quieres,” her collaboration with recently-confirmed boyfriend Christian Nodal. “I miss you, my love,” she said in the middle of the song.
Inspired by Mexico’s Día de Muertos, the three-hour show — with a 360-degree-style stage filled with altars, catrinas that come to life and colorful Mexican artesanía — features all four artists singing while horseback riding (no easy feat) and charros who literally risk their lives riding bulls. At one point, one of the Mexican cowboys was kicked by the bull he rode for a competition and had to be taken out on a stretcher. Pepe assured concertgoers he was “fine,” adding, “Thank God nothing major happened and we can go on with the show.”
Pepe was the last to take the stage and did it to a packed house filled with multi-generational families who applauded his commitment to put Mexican music, culture and tradition at the forefront of his shows. His children, who had performed him, watched their father from afar in admiration. “I promise to bring you a different show each year if you let me,” Pepe declared.
After an encore show in Chicago on Saturday (July 6), the Jaripeo Hasta Los Huesos Tour continues with two back-to-back stops in Los Angeles on July 13-14.
There are two things the English cannot live without: soccer and Glastonbury. The legendary summer festival that took place over the weekend drew 200,000 to see sets by headliners Dua Lipa, LCD Soundsystem, Coldplay, SZA and Burna Boy, even as England was fighting for its life in a thrilling elimination game against Slovakia in the […]
Taylor Swift‘s stage didn’t perform as planned at the start of “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” during Saturday’s show in Dublin.
As the pop icon launched into the first few lines of the track from The Tortured Poets Department — “Was any of it true/ Gazing at me starry-eyed/ In your Jehovah’s Witness suit/ Who the f— was that guy?” — concertgoers noticed the stage was malfunctioning. The elevated section Swift stood on had failed to lower when it was supposed to, leaving her momentarily stranded.
Swift didn’t flinch over the glitch.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long for one of her dancers, Jan Ravnik, to lend a hand and help her down.
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In a closeup video from Swift’s Tortured Poets set of the concert posted by a fan, it looks and sounds like the pop star’s trying to hold in laughter as Ravnik offers assistance.
The show must go on, and Swift’s three-and-a-half-hour show did.
Swift’s international Eras Tour was at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for three concerts this weekend. Next, she’ll take the tour to Amsterdam for a trio of dates at Johan Cruijff Arena from July 4-6.
On Sunday, Billboard announced Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department remains at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a 10th consecutive, and total, week.
At this point, Swift has played the majority of the 31-track collection live on The Eras Tour at least once. The Tortured Poets section of the show includes tracks “But Daddy I Love Him,” a small taste of “So High School,” ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “Down Bad,” which transitions to “Fortnight.” It wraps up with “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” (usually with a functioning stage) and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
Other tracks from the album have had their live debut in Swift’s acoustic section, in which she offers two surprise-song performances. This weekend’s firsts included “The Albatross” on Saturday and “Clara Bow” on Sunday for Stevie Nicks, who was in the VIP tent and filming Swift’s song with her cell phone.
See clips of Swift expertly handling the Saturday stage malfunction below.
Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks reunited in Dublin on Sunday (June 30), with The Eras Tour headliner dedicating the night’s acoustic section to the iconic Fleetwood Mac singer.
With Nicks in attendance, it was the perfect occasion for Swift to perform The Tortured Poets Department‘s “Clara Bow” live for the first time ever; she names Nicks on the second verse of “Clara Bow,” singing: “You look like Stevie Nicks/ In ’75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshine, a full eclipse.”
“I’ve never played this song live at all,” Swift noted before “Clara Bow,” which was one of two acoustic performances at her Aviva Stadium concert Sunday, her third date in Ireland.
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“The reason I want to play this tonight is because a friend of mine is here who is watching the show,” Swift hinted. She praised this friend for paving the way for her, saying she’s “one of the reasons why I get to do what I get to do” — and that she’s been a guiding hand to many female artists.
Added Swift, “She’s a hero of mine. I could tell her any secret; she’d never tell anybody.”
“I’m talking about Stevie Nicks,” Swift announced, leading the audience in a massive round of applause.
Playing on guitar, Swift worked lyrics from “The Lucky One” — her 2012 Red song with a theme that parallels that of “Clara Bow” — into the live debut of “Clara Bow” during her surprise song set.
Swift then played “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” from her 2022 Midnights album, on piano. At Sunday’s show, there was an unsaid reason for her choice of song: it has personal meaning to Nicks.
In May 2023, Nicks expressed her gratitude to Swift for writing the song, at it’s helped her mourn the late Christine McVie, Nicks’ dear friend and bandmate who passed away in November 2022. “Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid.’ That is the sadness of how I feel,” she said on stage last year.
“Never an argument in our entire 47 years,” Nicks said of her deep connection with McVie. “The two of us were on our own, kids. We always were. And now, I’m having to learn to be on my own, kid, by myself. You helped me to do that. Thank you.”
The rock icon was first spotted by fans in the Dublin stadium earlier at Swift’s show on Sunday, walking to and from the VIP tent that’s set up for Swift’s guests.
Nicks, in town for her own tour (with a date in Dublin on July 3), is directly connected to Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which rules at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a 10th consecutive week. The singer-songwriter penned a poem “for T — and me…” that appeared on the album art for physical copies of the set, Swift’s 11th studio album.
The poem, in part, reads: “She looked back from her future/ And shed a few tears/ He looked into his past/ And actually felt fear/ For both of them/ The answers — would never be/ Everclear/ Don’t ask questions now/ Do that later/ She brings joy/ He brings Shakespeare/ It’s almost a tragedy/ Says she/ Don’t endanger me/ Don’t endanger me.”
In the next stanza, Nicks writes: “He really can’t answer her/ He’s afraid of her/ He’s hiding from her/ And he knows — that he’s hurting her.”
More than 14 years ago, at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Swift and Nicks sang a medley of Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 hit “Rhiannon” and Swift’s 2009 hit “You Belong With Me.”
Taylor Swift debuted another Tortured Poets Department track live Saturday night (June 29). The singer-songwriter performed “The Albatross,” found on the Anthology edition of her latest album, for the first time at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
“I’m gonna do a song I’ve never performed live before today,” she announced at the Eras Tour endstage, where she brings surprise songs (song mashups, lately) to the acoustic section of her show each night.
On guitar, she dove right into “The Albatross”: “Wise men once said/ Wild winds are death to the candle/ A rose by any other name is a scandal/ Cautions issued, he stood/ Shooting the messengers/ They tried to warn him about her,” sang Swift. “Cross your thoughtless heart/ Only liquor anoints you/ She’s the albatross/ She is here to destroy you.”
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Swift suddenly shifted to “Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” a highlight from her Rep album about a love she fears will be endangered.
“I knew there was no one in the world who could take it,” she admits on the track. “But we were dancing/ Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied.”
She expertly mashed up the two songs’ moving bridges, starting with “Dancing” — “I’d kiss you as the lights went out/ Swayin’ as the room burned down/ I’d hold you as the water rushes in/ If I could dance with you again” — and adding in her “Albatross” tale, offering: “And when that sky rains fire on you/ And you’re persona non grata/ I’ll tell you how I’ve been there too/ And that none of it matters.”
“Spread my wings like a parachute/ I’m the albatross/ I swept in at the rescue,” Swift sings on The Tortured Poets Department track.
On piano during Saturday night’s acoustic set, Swift performed 1989‘s dreamy “This Love,” which she embellished with elements of her Speak Now-era love song “Ours.”
“When you’re young, you just run/ But you come back to what you need,” she sang from “This Love,” reassuring her muse with the sweet “Ours”: “It’s not theirs to speculate if it’s wrong/ Your hands are tough, but they are where I belong/ I’ll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you.”
Two months after an April 19 release, Swift has now played the majority of the 31-track Tortured Poets set live at least once. Her main set list includes several songs from the album: “But Daddy I Love Him,” a bite-sized taste of “So High School,” ‘Whose Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “Down Bad,” which transitions to “Fortnight,” followed by “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and the theatrical “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
She has yet to debut the album’s “So Long, London,” “Florida!!!” feat. Florence + The Machine, “Clara Bow,” “imgonnagetyouback,” “Cassandra” and “Robin” on the stage.
Below, watch clips of both acoustic performances from Saturday night. Swift’s Eras Tour will entertain the Dublin crowd with one more show on Sunday before making its way to Amsterdam for the 4th of July. Dates in Zurich, Milan and more will follow on Swift’s international trek.
IMPECÁVEL!Confira o mashup de “The Albatross x Dancing With Our Hands Tied” que aconteceu hoje em Dublin. 🤍🖤pic.twitter.com/uL5UE97zqs— Taylor Swift Brasil (@taylorswiftbr) June 29, 2024
Ethel Cain‘s performance in Central Park as part of SummerStage’s concert series largely went off without a hitch Thursday evening (June 28), with the 26-year-old musician performing a slew of mellow tracks and closing with a rousing encore of “American Teenager” and a cover of the Kim Carnes’ version of “Bette Davis Eyes.” But there was one bizarre moment that occurred midway through, with four to five people requiring medical assistance within a few minutes of each other during the same song.
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Just before launching into her ambient, unreleased song “Amber Waves,” Cain asked her audience to close their eyes and stand still to feel the energy of the song rippling through them. Some concertgoers may have taken her instructions too seriously, though, and locked their knees while listening, as a few appeared to pass out and/or suddenly require help all at once across several different spots in the crowd.
Other relevant factors: the temperature of the outdoor event was somewhere in the high 70s, according to National Weather Service, though drinks were available at concession stands. The sold-out space was fully packed as well, with a staff member instructing concertgoers before the show began to refrain from sitting down on the ground in order to make sure everyone could fit.
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When she noticed people needing aid, Cain stopped her performance in its tracks and directed medics to the spots they were needed. She also called on SummerStage workers to hand out waters, which they obliged, and at least one person was walked out of the venue by staff.
“Does anybody else need water?” the Florida native asked her audience patiently before starting “Amber Waves” from the top. “Is everyone good, is anyone feeling faint?”
Billboard has reached out to SummerStage’s rep for comment.
Cain is currently slated to tour throughout the end of September, when she’ll return to New York for the All Things Go music festival. Her debut record, Preacher’s Daughter, was one of Billboard‘s top 50 albums of 2022.
The rapid-fire incidents at Cain’s show are just the latest examples in what seems to be an upward trend of people fainting since live performances returned post-pandemic. Last year, fellow folk-rock star Maggie Rogers issued a PSA to fans about the importance of staying hydrated at concerts, noting in a TikTok video, “Something is happening on this tour that we have never ever experienced before, which is that we’re seeing more people than ever either pass out or have panic attacks in the audience.”
“Obviously, it’s been a really long time since we’ve been in crowds, and concerts may not be the most natural space after a couple of years we’ve spent in the pandemic,” she added at the time. “If you’re coming to a show, please stay hydrated, try not to lock your knees if you’re standing for a really long time, take some breaks, and just do everything you can to keep everyone safe and healthy around you.”
Watch Cain handle the pauses in her show below.