Let’s start this out with a story, shall we? Nearly two years ago, I attended Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour in Seattle, Washington. This tour was one of the biggest ones of the century, bringing in $250,733,097 and over 2 million adoring fans. The show I attended in particular housed 60,000 fans in the home of the Seattle Seahawks, CenturyLink Field. The North American portion of the tour featured two different opening acts. The first being singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes (‘Stitches’) and the second, Vance Joy (‘Riptide’). These two artists, if you haven’t heard of them are phenomenal vocalists and songwriters and have continued to take on enormous successes, partially due to this tour. Swift makes sure to bring up-incoming performers who care about music and songwriting just as she does and gives them a huge start to their career (for example, Ed Sheeran in 2013 tour RED).
I, as well as many others, had been waiting to see Swift for months in advance, and of course, as we prepared, we dressed and memorized lyrics for her. What I failed to do was take into consideration these two phenomenal performers. And how often we do that, as consumers. We stick to our one group of favorite artists and do not widen our horizons nearly at all. The opening act is commonly underrated, and what I had come to realize is that I was completely wrong. Both Mendes and Joy earned their spots into those highly coveted positions and I should have taken the time to at least learn their lyrics.
Although I didn’t take that time, I had the incredible opportunity to hear their songs come to life in front of all 60,000 of those people.
Mendes stood out to me in particular because of his young age and ability to control the audience from behind the guitar and piano. He makes his audience feel his lyrics even if they have only heard his hit songs.
He is only a month older than me and was playing a sold-out show in front of 60,000 people with such grace as if he had done it a million times. That is crazy to me.
But there’s also something about opening acts that you don’t normally get with the main event.
They are so stricken with awe and wonder as if each individual in that stadium came to see them.
They are so appreciative of every clap of the hand and every hum of their lyrics that they have worked so hard to create.
They try to embrace every moment, and to me, that is priceless.
Especially Mendes.
I had never heard all of his lyrics, but in a way, I connected with them, and isn’t that what music is all about?
Late last year, Mendes released an album titled “Illuminate” and embarked on an arena show of his own, named after the album. This past week, he played a show in Portland, Oregon, to which I attended in support.
This time knowing almost every word to every song.
But there was one thing that I also remembered to do.
I made sure that I was familiar with most of Charlie Puth’s lyrics as well.
Puth was awe-stricken as he walked out on the stage for the first show of the North American leg of the Illuminate World Tour. And while not every individual came in honor of his presence, he was grateful as if they had.
“Wow. I’m playing in front of a lot of people right now.” he said as he looked out into the sea of darkness that had screams emerging from it.
And while Moda Center only houses nearly 20,000 people, Puth was amazed as each person knew the lyrics to the renowned Fast and Furious track, ‘See You Again.’
When lights go dim and the opening act comes on, what does half of the arena do?
They go and purchase merchandise and food while they’re waiting for the show to start.
Even if the opening act that is playing at the show you go to has no hit songs as big as Mendes and Puth do, I encourage you to become familiar with their lyrics, because it is so rewarding to know that you made a difference in that individual’s career and that you were a part of one of the biggest moments of their life. Playing in front of a crowd that they have been working for years to come across.
It not only makes you have more fun, because you’re not waiting for it to end but rather enjoying the opening act just as much as the main event.
Who knows, they might eventually become one of your favorite artists.
