Yungblud Brings His Beautiful Brand of Chaos to Minneapolis
Photo by Andrew Dobin - @northstarimagery
5.9.26 - Minneapolis, MN
A promise to come back to Minneapolis every year for the rest of his life is a promise I guarantee Yungblud will keep after his show there on May 9, 2026. British singer-songwriter Dominic Harrison is better known by his stage name, Yungblud. Yungblud has steadily risen to fame over the past few years. Now on tour for his latest album, Idols, he is showing the world who he is and what he stands for.
Before Yungblud took the stage, Return to Dust had the honor of opening the night. With an Ouroboros as the background to their performance, Return to Dust grabbed my attention. Their raw vocals and heavy beat vibrated in my chest. Their sound was very grunge, rock, and 90s-inspired. A highlight of their set was their rock cover of “Hey Ya!” by Outkast, which I was pleased to discover was also released on their Spotify. Throughout their set, they emphasized the importance of love and support for one another.
Photo by Andrew Dobin - @northstarimagery
It was now time for Yungblud. The lights dimmed and flashes of footage appeared on the screen. As the screen flickered through different scenes of Yungblud, a spotlight shone on the upper balcony. Lo and behold, Yungblud stepped out, fingers pointed, and cheers erupted as fans spotted him. He turned to run down the stairs with the camera following him, exposing the stairwells and behind-the-stage access of The Armory. As that faded, “Hello” in different languages flashed on the screen. The greeting gave way to Yungblud’s first song, “Hello Heaven, Hello.” The crowd was greeted with a blast of confetti, which created a whimsical and dreamlike effect for the first song.
Picture Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury. That’s the kind of energy Yungblud brought as he moved haphazardly around the stage. As the Brits would say, Yungblud is cheeky. His stage presence is filled with butt swaying, floor gyrating, and words that would probably make your grandma gasp. His outward confidence is almost as high as his love for his fans. At every opportunity, he was making direct eye contact with or calling out individual fans in the audience. Even after every sip of his drink he took, he would throw the cup into the crowd (I think he went through at least 5 cups).
Yungblud wasn’t just singing; there were other vital pieces of his performance that added to the spectacle: visuals and pyrotechnics. Each of the songs had unique camera angles and visuals. During “Idols Pt. 1,” there was a four-way split screen with different angles of Yungblud’s performance. Each one emphasized a different part of his body. A camera even dropped down from an ornate angel state during “Fire” to give a top-down view of Yungblud lying down on stage. I was pleasantly surprised to see violinists onstage with him, which really made my appreciation for Yungblud grow.
The best energy flow of the night came between fleabag and lowlife. After “fleabag” ended, the shades came on as Yungblud teasingly combed through his hair. He encouraged fans to climb on each other’s shoulders and show how naughty they could be. Perhaps to his (and the crowd’s) surprise, someone shown on the big screen flashed him. For the first time in my life, I thought this must be what it felt like to be at a rock show in the 80s.
If you’re familiar with Yungblud or the Osbourne family, then you’ll know how close Yungblud was to Ozzy Osbourne. To honor Ozzy, Yungblud performed “Changes” by Black Sabbath. During the song, fans held up purple slips of paper to their phone flashlights to light up the venue in purple. The emotion in the room was palpable. During an instrumental portion of the song, Yungblud looked teary-eyed, taking a moment to appreciate the lights.
Yungblud closed out his explosive set with a three-song encore. He gave it his all from start to finish. I was surprised to discover his setlist was only 14 songs total, and my only complaint is wishing it was longer. Maybe it is a greedy ask, but who wouldn’t want to hear more songs live? Yungblud ended with “Suburban Requiem,” reminding fans he’ll be right there “next to you in every dream you try to be.”
Photos by Andrew Dobin - @northstarimagery
