The First Night of Together, Together in London
06.12.26 - London, England
Photo by Kaitlyn Serain
Since being announced back in January, the “Together, Together” tour has been steeped in mini-controversies, whether it be the high prices for seats, the obstructive bridges built into the already large stage, or the simple fact that the tour is being conducted through residencies across only seven cities (seemingly conflicting with the premise of bringing fans together).
Whatever it was, Styles was always going to have one big problem with the next tour he would debut to the world—it wasn’t the feather-boa, cowboy-hat-wearing, 3-year-long cultural monolith known as “Love on Tour.” Adding that simple fact into the equation, "Together, Together” was always going to struggle in comparison.
To explain my journey to getting to Wembley Stadium, I have to (of course) start off with the Ticketmaster battle, or lack thereof, in my case. I signed up for two dates in New York, waited in a long line, and then discovered the tickets left were way more than what I could afford. I received my tickets for June 12th in London as a joint birthday and master’s graduation gift from my partner.
Photo courtesy of @iheartcountry on Instagram
So a month after my graduation, I was stepping off the train and walking to Wembley Stadium in a sea of thousands of people ready to see the opening night of the London residency. I was so, so excited—the last time I’d seen Styles live was in 2021 at the very beginning of “Love on Tour” in the nosebleeds of Amalie Arena (now Benchmark International Arena). On the train, I heard some quiet chatter about what may be changing and perhaps what songs others would wish to hear.
But first! Shania Twain, a woman famous for her vice grip on your mother’s car radio in the 2000s. She is the opener for all shows in London, and she did a great job with what she had to work with. She sounded great as she danced all over the massive stage—that is, when the audience could hear her. While I was absolutely ecstatic to witness Shania Twain live, there was a bit of a disconnect between her and the audience due to sound issues. Occasionally, her sound was so low that I had to guess which part of “That Don’t Impress Me Much” I should sing along to.
She didn’t let that deter her, however, getting a huge reaction with her cheeky lyric change to “Okay, so you're Harry Styles / That don't impress me much.” Honestly, her set made me wish my mom was there to sing along to her set.
Photo by Kaitlyn Serafin
Following Twain’s set, there was about a forty-minute wait until Styles took to the stage. In this time, the screen oscillated between “Together, Together” imagery and other fun gags, like the “Respect Your Mother! Cam.” What I found out was that this tour is partnered with the Music Venue Trust. As someone who would put her life on the line for my favorite independent music venue, seeing the message “Without grassroots music venues, there’s no stadium shows” being shown on such a massive platform impressed me quite a lot.
Photo Courtesy of @raphph on Instagram
Before attending this show, I avoided almost all videos and setlists from the Amsterdam residency, as I wanted to be completely surprised. Surprised I was as Styles took to the stage awash in a rainbow gradient and wild visuals involving bicycles. The show opened with “Are You Listening Yet?" which I felt was fitting. I was even more ecstatic to hear my favorites Taste Back”, “Fine Line”, and “Pop”.
Throughout his twenty-song set, Harry would move throughout the aisles, the main stage, and the B-stage that was located in the center of the square-shaped stage. While his energy was admirable, on reflection I did find myself doubting the efficacy of the stage setup. This stage has to be one of the largest I’ve ever seen in all the stadium shows I’ve ever been to. Leading to an issue that I’m not sure would be entirely exclusive to me; that stage was so large sometimes it was hard to find where Styles was.
If you were to ask a Harry Styles fan why they enjoy going to his shows despite the lack of overt spectacle, you would almost always hear about his stage work. Styles is charming, a fact even noted by my partner who is just a casual fan by proxy. He often takes the time to stop the show to read signs, tell stories, and even have joking banter when a particular thing in the audience catches his attention. At my show, we found what type of egg is his favorite; fried egg, followed closely by scrambled. I was glad to see that this aspect wasn’t lost in the sheer size of this show.
Despite the fact that it’s not what it was, I think that this was sort of the point. Styles takes risks with this tour he hasn’t in the past, notably the DJ set he does in the middle of the show and the segment of choreography. He also changed the ending of the show away from “Kiwi” to “As It Was” to further elucidate my above point. “Together, Together” explores the influences of Harry’s House and adds them into the live performances, enhancing songs like “Aperture” and introduces a new element to his live shows. Do I think it will be the legend of “Love on Tour?” Not exactly, but I think it’s different and fresh for Styles.
