From digital cameras in the 90s to cellphones in 2026, recording and photographing at concerts has been common practice for decades.
However, many artists seem to not appreciate digital engagement as much as their fans do.
Metal band Tool has held phoneless concerts since 2017. Bob Dylan has done the same since 2022. Most recently, Phoebe Bridgers announced a headlining stadium tour that would be completely phoneless following her series of small, hidden acoustic sets that ended with a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on June 6, 2026 — all of which were managed and enforced by Yondr.
On Sept. 29 of this year, Bridgers brought her phoneless Lost Tour to D.C., enchanting fans from American University and the greater D.C. area alike with dazzling light shows and intimate moments with fans. Mirabel Johns, local musician and sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, thoroughly appreciated the phoneless nature of the show.
“I think a lot of that experience I owe to the whole no-phone policy,” she said.
The show contained many references to outer space. A large dome hung over the main stage, lifting to reveal Bridgers for her opening song. It stayed lifted until the encore, projected with different planets and stars. Instead of a screen, she instead had her image projected onto a large piece of fabric behind her.
Over the B-stage hung another planet-like fixture, which became a central part of the light show she incorporated into her performance. The lights swell for more upbeat songs, strobing across the crowd like shooting stars and slowly twinkling for slower songs.
Johns has been a fan of Bridgers’ music since her debut album “Stranger in the Alps” (2018). She has attended 28 concerts in her life and said that a common experience at a larger artist’s show is “...[a] sea of phones. Screen, screen, screen, screen, screen.”
“I think that from my experience, at Phoebe, everyone was so much more connected,” Johns said. “You saw people [with] arms around each other, swinging to the music, just so in the moment and present. Everyone was just fully engaged.”
The lack of phones in the crowd provided a blank canvas for the light show. The lights built upon Bridgers’ performance, breaking the silence and exciting the crowd into singing and dancing with each other. In quieter moments, the slow-moving lights calmed the crowd and constructed a melancholy mood.
Charlotte Connell, a sophomore in CAS, was more uncertain.
“I think it was definitely stressful, not having my phone,” Connell said. “Just because it’s unnatural, you know?”
Even with her doubts about the situation, Connell also believes that it added to the experience.
“I genuinely felt like I was in the moment and living in the moment,” Connell said. “And it just felt more personal.”
Connell was not the only fan iffy on a phoneless experience. Fans and observers online are debating the absence of phones, worried about medical emergencies or contacting family members.
In 2024, a digital wellness report conducted by BePresent recorded that 83 percent of Gen Z reported having an unhealthy relationship with their phone. Still, some fans are willing to step out of their comfort zone for an unforgettable experience with their favorite musicians.
“It was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life,” Johns said.
Article edited by Mina O’Dell, Jessica Ackerman and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Arin Burrell, Jaden Maitland Anderson and Ryan Sieve. Fact-checking done by Josie Burnette.
