Recently I attended Harry Styles’ Love on Tour 2022 concert. I drove an hour and a half from Oswego to Utica, then another hour and a half from Utica to Albany, and then 2.5 hours to NYC. After a long trip in the car and multiple stops, I had finally made my way outside Madison Square Garden. I went along with my hometown friend from high school, Julia, and her mom, who also happens to be a huge fan of Harry Styles.
Planning my outfit was one of the most fun experiences of the trip. Harry Styles’ concerts are pretty much comparable to an all-out fashion show for each person attending. Somewhere within the multiple tours Harry has performed, his concerts have claimed an unspoken dress code. Almost every person you see is wearing a full-out and exciting outfit. I saw boas, leg warmers, full costumes, fringe, flared everything and an intense amount of accessories. I spent months preparing my outfit beforehand to find the perfect combination that would fit the perfect bright, colorful and eccentric theme of LOT and more specifically, Harry’s House. I ended up going with neon purple, fuzzy cargo pants, a neon pink top, a rainbow heart belt, rainbow rings, and heeled black booties. I decided to put half my hair up in two small ponytails and filled my hair with many rainbow clips.
The first thing I did upon arriving at MSG was immediately enter the merch line. After glancing at all the items, and working out in my mind how much money I could spend before ending up completely broke, I decided on two items to purchase. There were loads of cool shirts and sweatshirts. One was a light lavender color, with a small house on the front and a list of his songs from his newest album on the back, that I especially liked. I ended up deciding on the black tour shirt and the famous tote bag covered in lightly colored letters. I also ended up getting the “themed” concert drink being sold, which was named the watermelon drink. It was a mixture of lime, watermelon, and a few other ingredients. Overall I’d give the drink a 5/10.
After finding our seats and excitedly waiting to see Harry, finally we see the box he always starts out in rolled onto the floor. The crowd erupted in tremendous screams and cheers. And from there on out, for the next hour and a half, I danced and sang along to twenty songs in a row. Along with the majority of the songs from his newest album, he also performed extras like “Golden,” “Kiwi,” “Sign of The Times,” “Watermelon Sugar,” and “What Makes You Beautiful.” I was really hoping to be one of the lucky shows that got to hear “Medicine,” one of his unreleased songs, live, yet sadly we were instead gifted with multiple repeats of “Watermelon Sugar.”
During his show, he also played the game “Golf Dads,” where he and his crew went around the crowd pointing out stereotypical “golf dads.” He made jokes about these types of parents coming to the show for their kid after getting back from 18 holes of golf, just wanting to sit back and enjoy a beer instead. He also bantered about breaking the record from the last show and went around the entire arena zooming in on every golf dad he could find, getting the entire crowd involved and hyped up for the rest of his performance.
After the three separate encores and hours of screaming my voice into nothing, the show finally came to an end. Walking down the seemingly endless stairs of Madison Square Garden felt like a fever dream, and I couldn’t believe after months and months of waiting, it was finally over. It was a bittersweet moment, but was filled mainly with joy and excitement from being able to see an idol of mine. It was a great moment, and one I will cherish forever. I got to travel with my friend, spend the night in NYC, and experience something new I had never done before. I encourage everyone to see Harry Styles live if possible, because it was a very interactive, exciting and overall amazing experience. Not only was the show itself a great time, but the fans that I met and surrounded me were some of the nicest people I have ever met. I’m very grateful I was able to have this opportunity, and I hope one day I will be able to do it again!