I went to Harry Styles' concert on Halloween and now understand why his shows are always sold out (2024)

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Getting into the venue was chaos.

According to Ticketmaster, doors for the event would open at 7 p.m. and the show would begin at 8 p.m.

However, the demand for merchandise was frantically high. Fans had been told the exclusive Harryween t-shirt was only available in "limited quantities," and the Saturday stock sold out in minutes.

As a big fan of both Styles and band tees, I, too, wanted the shirt.

I'd been lurking on Twitter all day, and somepeople who were already in line had been told they'd be let in at 6:30 p.m., so I planned to join at 6:15 p.m.

By the time I arrived, the venue was already swarmed on all sides. Crowds of people had formed around each entrance and no one seemed quite sure where to queue. It took 20 minutes for me to fight through the horde and find a security guard, who directed me towards the proper portal.

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Inside wasn't much better, especially near the merch stands.

The crowds definitely became calmer and more organized as the hours ticked by, but when I first got inside the venue, it was mayhem. Fans were sprinting and jostling in every direction.

There were several merch stands on every floor, and by 6:45 p.m., each line already boasted at least 50 people. Most of the Harryween shirts and posters were gone. (I did manage to get one, but after I waited in line for about 40 minutes, it had sold out in three sizes.)

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The line of people waiting to take photos was similarly lengthy.

A backdrop had been arranged for fans to take photos, complete with an orange sofa and a skeleton wearing a green feather boa.

But the line stretched at least 30 people when I first saw it, and the length stayed consistent for several hours.

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When I took my seat around 8 p.m., the general admission section was already jam-packed.

The two Harryween shows had a markedly different setup than Styles' other shows this year.

Typically, his stage is positioned in the middle of the pit. Fans can buy general-admission tickets for either side, offering more opportunities to get close to the stage.

For Harryween, however, the stage was positioned at one end of the pit for a more traditional layout. This meant that fans with general-admission tickets had been queueing for hours outside the venue, in hopes of getting a better spot in the crowd.

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I attended the show alone, but I made friends with the other girls in my row.

Many fans purchased tickets for Harryween more than one year in advance, when Styles announced the event back in 2020. It was postponed due to the pandemic, but original tickets were honored.

In the many months since, demand for Styles' concert tickets has skyrocketed. The general-admission tickets for Harryween, which originally retailed around $140, were listed on Stubhub for upwards of $1,000.

I managed to buy a single ticket in section 113 directly from a fellow fan, whom I recently met on Twitter. (Many Styles fans prefer to forgo third-party resale sites and barter with each other directly, allowing for lower prices and embodying Styles' ethos to "treat people with kindness.")

The girl sitting next to me — whose name was also Callie, much to our shared delight — had decided at the last minute to drive to the concert from Pennsylvania with three friends in tow. They managed to buy two sets of resale tickets on the way. I have to applaud the commitment.

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When Styles took the stage at 9:30 p.m., the floor began to shake.

Styles opened the show with his joyful single "Golden," the first track on his sophom*ore album "Fine Line."

As soon as Styles walked onstage, the crowd's energy became electric. When the music started playing, everyone began to jump, and I could feel the stands bending and shaking; I was in the middle of my section, and I genuinely contemplated what would happen if the floorboards were to snap underneath me.

During the first show of Harryween, a boxing match took place in theHulu Theater below, whose attendees said it felt "like an earthquake."

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"Good evening, my name is Harry. Welcome to Harryween," he said.

"For the next 90 minutes, our job is to entertain you," he told the crowd just before singing "Adore You." "I promise you we're going to do our absolute very best. But you also have one job tonight and that is to have as much fun as you possibly can."

"If you wanna sing, if you wanna dance, please feel free to do whatever it is you wanna do in this room tonight," he continued. "Please feel free to be whoever it is you've always wanted to be in this room tonight."

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I was worried that sitting behind the stage would ruin the experience, but Styles was one of the most mobile performers I'd ever seen.

Styles is known for engaging with his audience, and I was not disappointed. He made a point to move around the entire stage and pay attention to each area in the crowd.

Even though I was seated directly behind his band, I still had a great view of his dancing and frolicking throughout the show; he even blew kisses towards my section several times.

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His performance of "Lights Up" was a particular favorite of mine.

While Styles sang "Lights Up," the lead single from "Fine Line," the crowd was illuminated with swathes of multi-colored dots.

Of course, this was no accident. To honor the song's message of self-acceptance, a group of fans organized the "Harryween Rainbow Project" to create this effect. Each section was assigned a certain color, and corresponding pieces of paper were distributed to fans before Styles took the stage.

The rainbow embodied the sense of community at a Styles show, which is truly unparalleled (as soon as merch has been secured, that is). And I say this as someone who's been to more than 100 concerts in my 26 years of life.

I met several people who traveled across state lines just to attend Harryween, and even one girl who made the trip from Mexico. It felt like every fan knew every word to every song. During "Treat People With Kindness," those in the pit even performed a choreographed line dance that had been planned in advance.

The joy and gratitude in the room were palpable, including and especially from Styles himself, who hardly stopped grinning.

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His surprise performance of "Medicine" was another highlight.

There were rumors that Styles had performed "Medicine" during Sunday night's soundcheck, but nothing could prepare me for the wave of sheer elation when he began playing the song during his encore.

Styles has rarely performed "Medicine," which was recorded during sessions for his debut album but never officially released.

For a song that isn't available to purchase or to listen to on any streaming service, it was truly shocking and delightful to hear so many people sing along at the tops of their lungs.