Conan Gray Pulled the Long End of the Wishbone On Opening Night of His Tour in Minneapolis
February 19, 2026 - Minneapolis, MN
“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight," as the old adage goes, but the sailors in question this time are Conan Gray and his fans flooding into the Target Center in Minneapolis on February 19. Gray was the captain of this ship, leading his fans, in matching sailor outfits, out to a night of wishing, loving, and celebrating all that there is to life and music. On the opening night of the Wishbone World Tour, Gray utilized stage design to tell the story of his latest album, Wishbone.
Before entering Gray’s world, the fans were introduced to the opener of the night, Esha Tewari. Well known for her TikTok famous song, “You Were Mine,” Tewari brought a slow, methodical vibe to the stage. The 19-year-old Australian singer got the audience involved with a call and response to her song “About Me” and chatted with the crowd while tuning her guitar. The fans were having a great time and singing all her songs back to her. I can only imagine her performances will get better as the tour goes on and she gets more comfortable onstage.
Just like a theater performance, Gray’s concert was divided into four acts, an acoustic section, and the encore. Each act title appeared on the screen while the stage was being changed. For his first act, a wishbone never breaks even, and Gray opened the show with “My World.” As the song says, Gray is setting the stage for fans to come as they are and enjoy a night celebrating themselves. Coming out riding a bike in his infamous sailor costume, Gray explosively ran around the stage singing his first song. The stage itself reminded me of a cross between Kansas (specifically in the Wizard of Oz) and a classic nautical movie.
As the act title entails, Gray included other songs that portray feelings of insecurity, yearning, and eventual heartbreak, such as “Never Ending Song,” “Care,” and “Wish You Were Sober.” Gray transitioned beautifully into each of these songs, pausing for a few moments to mention how happy he was to be on the first night of his tour.
After changing into pajamas and lying down on a bed amongst cloud props, it was time for the second act of the night, titled "I got the short end of the stick." These songs tell the story of believing everyone else around you had a better life and you pulled the short end of the wishbone. During “People Watching,” Gray got down from the stage and walked the barricade, taking the time to high-five fans and ultimately sit on the stairs leading back up to the stage to scream the last chorus with them. Gray made it a point to interact with his fans as much as possible and would bend down while walking on his catwalk to grab their hands.
Being the first show of the tour, the fans tend to set the precedent for various fan projects, chants, and other elements of the show. On this tour, the fan project came in the form of passing out blue stars to specific sections to hold their phone flashlight up to during “Eleven Eleven.” It created a blue and white stripe effect in the crowd, which was really beautiful to see.
Gray then transitioned into what he deemed as “Conan’s Campfire,” which was the acoustic section for the night. He played one of his favorite songs, “The Story.” As quickly as the acoustic section began, it came to a close, as he only did one song there before moving along to the next act. If there was one complaint for the show, it would be that the acoustic section deserved more of a moment and had at least two songs.
The third act was my favorite of the night. Dubbed the “I took the long way to realization” act, Gray appeared from a ship that had been wheeled out on the stage. Tying together the entire theme of Wishbone, Gray brought out a physical wishbone and pulled the wishbone with a fan. The winner would choose one of two songs from the screen for Gray to play. The fan pulled the bigger piece and chose “Lookalike.” Another highlight for this part of the show was Gray playing the longer version of his song “Heather.”
The fourth and final act before the encore was “I wished for love, and I found it.” After taking the time to introduce his all-woman band, Gray closed out the night playing hits like “Maniac” and “Vodka Cranberry.”
Gray did a superb job bringing his album, Wishbone, to life onstage. Through his use of props and titled acts, it felt like a full-on theatre production rather than a concert performance. Gray brought his own kind of ship to Minnesota. In a state where the football stadium is built like a ship and the well-known phrase for collegiate football is “row the boat,” Gray fit right in with the city of Minneapolis. This is just the beginning for his tour, and he can only get better from here.
