Pop star Conan Gray performed two consecutive nights in Boston at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on his “Found Heaven” tour on Sept. 24 and 26.
Conan Gray’s album “Found Heaven” was released on April 5, 2024, shocking fans with a new 80s synth feel and contrasting with the typical pop genre found in his previous albums “Superache”, “Kid Krow” and “Sunset Season.” Gray began performing on July 11 in Melbourne, Australia and has since made his way to the United States.
Gray’s setlist consisted of 13 songs, with a three-song encore to wrap it up. He did a phenomenal job choosing his most momentous tracks, with an even ratio of songs from his new album to past albums. As a bonus, his show began with opener Maisie Peters, whose stage presence kicked off the show in the most exciting way possible.
Peters performed her popular songs such as “History of Man” and “Lost the Breakup”; with such a pleasing voice and entertaining performance, this opener was anything but boring. However, her cover of “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan was what really got the crowd going, due to its relatability to the people of New England.
As Conan Gray stepped on stage, one of the top performances was definitely “Wish You Were Sober” from his 2020 album “Kid Krow”, a song about wishing someone were sober after acting a certain way at a party. As the third track of the night, this really made the atmosphere electric. A monumental song from his last album, it continues to be extremely popular. “Wish You Were Sober” is a very upbeat and peppy song, distinguishing it from the majority of his older songs which tend to be slower and more ballad-like. It was extremely fun to experience Gray’s emotion during this song as he danced around the stage and interacted with the audience numerous times. I think this performance brought so many fans back to the time when this song was popular, and its catchy tone and rhythm reminded everyone of why they loved it so much.
Other highlights of the night include Gray’s performances of both “The Exit” and “Memories” from his 2022 album “Superache.” What I noticed during the concert was that, despite his most recent album being the title for the tour, the most emotional ballads from his previous album were the ones that got the crowd most energized. These two songs from “Superache” delve into a breakup where one person, Conan Gray, was more affected than the other and the heartache that he has been dealing with since. As a majority of his fanbase is teenage girls, these songs were extremely relatable to a lot of his crowd with lyrics that everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs. In both of these performances, what made them so special was being able to feel Gray’s emotion spreading off of the stage and connecting to each member of the audience.
However, my favorite performance was easily “People Watching”, also from his album “Superache.” While this song is essentially sad, talking about only being able to watch people falling in love and hoping to have that one day, it’s in the form of an upbeat ballad. I thought this performance encapsulated the best aspects of his concert as a whole; the lighting during the entire concert matched each song and brought the atmosphere together, and Gray’s choreography mixed with spontaneous dancing brought out his personality in every song. This song truly brought the entire population of MGM together and was the best song of the night.
Still, the encore was by far the most upbeat and exhilarating part of the concert. Gray came back out onto the stage for three more songs: the upbeat “Bourgeoises” from “Found Heaven”, “Maniac” from “Kid Krow” and finally, “Alley Rose” also from “Found Heaven.” None of these songs disappointed, especially ending with a heartbreaking, top-hit ballad, to officially end the night. This last track definitely brought some tears to the venue, but a finishing of confetti and instrumentals resulted in every face smiling around me.
Overall, Conan Gray’s performance at MGM left every fan in amazement. Something so special about Conan Gray as an artist is his genuine nature in connecting with fans and writing music that can help so many in their journeys through their teenage and adult years. Before singing his extremely vulnerable song, “The Story”, Gray said something that stuck with everyone. He said, “When you’re a kid, you feel like that pain is gonna last forever because it’s all you’ve ever known.” He talked to the audience as if everyone were a close friend, and reminded them that he is on this journey alongside them. That energy could really be felt through every performance, and it was definitely an experience that I’ll never forget.
