Indie singer and internet personality Conan Gray performed at U Street Music Hall on Friday, March 29. The concert was a part of Gray’s Sunset Tour, which began in Seattle, Washington, on March 10 and will end in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 13.
Gray’s first EP, “Sunset Season,” was released in 2017 and features tracks such as “Generation Why,” “Crush Culture” and “Idle Town.” Gray’s first song now has more than 24 million streams on Spotify and 2 million views on YouTube.
Gray’s music focuses on being a teenager in the digital age, solidifying his place as a singer in touch with the current generation of teens, including those who may feel lost. This was apparent in the crowd, as it was largely made up of teenagers who anxiously awaited his arrival on stage, chanting “Yeehaw” before Gray came out.
This energy was only heightened after Gray ran onto the stage, performing “Generation Why,” a song about growing up that is reminiscent of Lorde’s “Pure Heroine.” Gray then moved on to a few slower songs, but the audience's attention to the singer never waned.
For Gray’s hit “Lookalike,” the audience held an assortment of colored paper hearts over their flashlights. These paper hearts, which were passed out before the concert, created a rainbow of light that made the night feel special and made Gray tear up.
Gray does not write love songs, in fact, he usually writes the opposite. As he moved from one break-up song to another, he smiled sarcastically saying, “Can we get a cheer for loneliness?”
“Every time I’m about to play this song, a cowboy hat just rises from the crowd,” Gray said before performing his most popular song, “Idle Town.” This bittersweet track details life in a small town only made bearable by friends. The crowd seemed to move as one, swaying while singing the lyrics back to Gray.
Ultimately, this was an intimate performance and the relationship between Conan Gray and his fans was overwhelming. Though Gray has only been making music since 2017, he has attained a very loyal following. The audience cried, hugged and screamed all throughout the night.
