Gracie Abrams Concert Review: The Community of Nostalgia

“Scream every word,” Gracie Abrams encouraged a packed TD Garden on July 24. The ecstatic crowd — a sea of pastel ruffles and bows signature to Abrams’ aesthetic — needed no reminder, belting out lyrics to the 25-year-old ascending pop star’s moody and evocative setlist for “The Secret of Us” Tour until the sound of the crowd matched that of the microphone. Anecdote-laden yet sweeping, Abrams’ performance was at once deeply personal and universal, an exhilaration of feelings too powerful to be conquered alone.

Abrams entered onstage following an opening by Djo — the brainchild of musician-actor Joe Keery — and jumbotron imagery of blurred, duplicating faces and hands, both inviting and anonymous. A cinematic quality permeated the entire concert, from Abrams’ dazzling Old Hollywood-style black sequin gown to transparent overlaid visuals adding haze to the big screen during “Blowing Smoke.” “I Told You Things,” moreover, exuded the quality of a music video, as the stage camera focused on Abrams kneeling with the audience in the background, staring right into a gray-filtered lens like a specter.

Yet, Abrams’ emphasis on the moment ensured that the experience didn’t just evoke faded memories, but rather created them. Shouting “Boston!” excitedly during “Risk,” Abrams later stated on behalf of her team: “We feel so lucky to be in your city right now.” Between heartfelt ballads while playing the guitar or piano, Abrams maintained constant engagement with fans, snapping selfies on eagerly extended phones and gifting guitar picks to outstretched hands as she moved across the floor of TD Garden to three total stages dispersed throughout the front, center, and back of the venue.

The center stage consisted of a replica of Abrams’ childhood bedroom on a raised platform. “It feels like we’re all in someone’s living room right now,” Abrams expressed to the audience, and the production indeed cultivated an intimacy of familiarity, down to the exact records on a nightstand and even laundry lying in a hamper.

Speaking to the crowd with the cadence of a conversation between friends, Abrams reminisced on making music in her bedroom as an outlet amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. She returned to her early songwriting roots with a surprise performance of “Rockland,” noting directly beforehand that she peruses fan DMs on Instagram before shows for surprise song requests and inspiration. Moving onto more songs from her 2024 album “The Secret of Us,” Abrams signaled that her recent work allowed for a full range of emotions, including difficult ones. “Is anybody feeling angry about anything?” She surveyed the crowd, from which a roar emerged.

The momentum of the performance was not without limitations, however, as the slower songs seemed to rush towards the rhythm of the higher-energy installments. “Cool” and “us.” sounded shakier and flatter than counterparts, yet perhaps the latter — the eponymous, final song of the standard setlist — can be attributed to being overshadowed by an unforgettable, exceptional encore.

Footage from Abrams’ entire career thus far closed the official setlist portion of the performance, looking back on Abrams wearing a mask during the pandemic, her first shows in venues miniscule by comparison with long hair instead of her now-signature bob, and shenanigans with her tour bus crew.

The theme of friendship crescendoed as Abrams suddenly invited surprise guest singer-songwriter Noah Kahan onstage for a duet of their collaboration “Everywhere, Everything,” still audible over the raucous cheers and gasps of disbelief from fans. With Kahan sporting a Bruins jersey, Abrams donned a Red Sox cap and ended her two-night Boston run in triumph — hitting a whistle note in “That’s So True” and launching confetti into the air at the real conclusion of the evening — a love letter to a city and crowd from an artist that confronts emotions through community.

—Staff writer Jackie Chen can be reached at jackie.chen@thecrimson.com.