Harry Styles recently completed a 15-date residency at Madison Square Garden. Harry’s 15 nights at MSG are part of an even larger residency tour of North America. Love On Tour 2022 kicked off on August 15th at Scotia-bank Arena in Toronto and is expected to conclude in Los Angles at the Kia Forum. Harry’s already completed more than half of his 44-date residency tour, as he finished his 6th and final night of his Austin shows on October 3rd. Politician Beto O’Rourke was even found in the crowd on Austin night 5! Though 44 shows in only five cities is an impressive feat, the focus of my article is going to be Harry’s historic 15 nights at MSG.
Love on tour 2022
Love On Tour 2022 is a continuation of Styles’ tour that took place in 2021 after being pushed back because of the pandemic. In 2021, Styles toured most of the United States and ended the U.S leg of his tour in November 2021 at the UBS Arena located in Long Island, New York. A few weeks before Love on Tour Europe was supposed to begin, it was announced, Harry would be returning to the U.S to perform for 44 more days. This decision was met with a lot of anger, as fans who didn’t live in the U.S felt that it was unfair the U.S had more opportunities to see Styles perform. New York and Los Angles were only originally supposed to have 10 dates each, however, five new dates for both cities were announced later on.
Opening act
Blood Orange is the musical act that opened for Harry every night of his stint in New York City. Blood Orange, or Devonté Hayes is a musician from England who has worked with other very prominent acts like Mariah Carey and Florence and the Machine. Hayes had been a musician since 2004 but only took the alias “Blood Orange” in 2009 when he decided to make more R&B music. His latest release as Blood Orange is called Four Songs which came out this year. Blood Orange and Styles were first seen together at the 2021 Grammys when Styles won his first award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
The main act
Harry’s third studio album, Harry’s House, was released on May 20th, 2022, and was the majority of what Harry performed each night. Styles also pulled songs from his other two albums, Fine Line and Harry Styles— songs like “Adore You,” which is a single from Fine Line, and “Sign of the Times,” which was Harry’s first release after One Direction went on hiatus. If you’re a Harry Styles fan, you’re probably aware of his vault of unreleased songs that he enjoys performing, like “Medicine,” which Harry played on select nights. Harry still has a soft spot for his One Direction days, which leads him to cover their songs. Harry has put his own unique spin on “What Makes You Beautiful” that kept the crowds at MSG energized each night.
In addition to the music, an important part of Harry’s shows is his interactions with fans. A favorite running joke of his is “golf dads.” At his show on October 4th, 2021, in NYC, Harry spotted a group of dads at his show wearing polos and gave them the nickname “golf dads.” At his last show, Harry decided to do a count of the “golf dads.” Another thing Harry enjoys doing is reading fan signs. Fans would ask him to play unreleased songs of his, or write things they missed to be there, or crazy things that have happened to them. Each night it seemed as though the signs got more extreme, and Harry would often be left shocked.
Welcome to the final show
Harry’s last show at MSG was on September 21, 2022. Boas, another running joke in his fandom, were passed out to each audience member. Staff at MSG wore t-shirts stating they stayed 15 nights with Harry. The air on the final night was very bittersweet as fans were happy to see Harry, but sad that this was his last night in New York City. But they were also proud of him since he played 15 consecutive nights as MSG, which is something that’s never been done before. Harry was awarded a banner by Gayle King of CBS News (AKA Oprah’s best friend), for his accomplishments. Styles was moved to tears seeing his banner raised into the rafters of MSG.
What’s Next?
Styles is about to kick off his Chicago dates which begin on October 6th and end on the 15th. From late October to mid-November, Harry will play shows in Los Angles. Harry has tour dates on the 30th and 31st of October, where fans and even him dress up— he’s coined those dates as “Harryween.” Styles will then embark on his South American and Australian tour dates. There are already rumors Styles will return next summer to play stadiums.