Harry Styles is back on tour with Together, Together this summer, kicking off his 12-night Wembley Stadium leg. Around a million ticket holders are ready to soak in every second, and he has vowed to give them his all.
Having often spoken of his love of performing live and the special, safe atmosphere created by fans at his gigs, Harry said in a 2023 interview: 'Playing for an amazing group of people every night is my favourite, favourite thing to do.'
After witnessing his One Night Only comeback concert in Manchester earlier this year, Brit Cult editor Mark Knox says Together, Together promises to be nothing short of 'brilliant'.
'A Harry Styles gig feels as close to a 1970s rock concert as we'll ever get again,' he tells OK!. 'It takes you to a time when the world seemed more fun, and yes it might be 2026 or whenever, but his shows feel almost timeless, like it could be any point in history.'
He continues: 'In the best possible way, his concerts have hen-do vibes, in that everyone is there to have fun. It's all about the music, joy and fun, and Harry is the conduit for that.'
Tour Format and Criticism
Harry's decision to limit his world tour to seven cities has been somewhat criticised. Addressing the topic recently, he insisted the limited geography 'makes the show better'.
'I think you can build something that doesn't have to travel every night,' he explained. 'I think there's something in this that allows me to stay in my life while I'm doing it and therefore I think allows me to take care of myself better, which I think makes me better at doing the thing.'
Harry is set to perform 67 shows across four continents, including a 30-night residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden and his Wembley Stadium run.
Expectations are high and, according to Michael Cragg, author of Reach for the Stars, early signs suggest a significant shift away from Harry's previous world tours.
'What's most interesting about him is no one entirely knows what's coming with the shows because the album seems to be more for him than it does for other people,' he tells OK!. 'It doesn't have the same sort of big sing-a-long pop songs, and it's more complex in terms of the lyrics, so it'll be really interesting to see how that translates to the live shows.
'It says a lot about his position that he can organise a tour where he stays in one place for a long time, and it hopefully means there's a lot going on in terms of staging and sets. He's excellent at communicating a sense of unity, even in huge stadiums, and he'll want to retain that, even as the venues get bigger and bigger.'
Love On Tour Legacy
Harry's last global tour, Love On Tour, was due to start in April 2020 but was postponed twice due to Covid-19. It officially began in September 2021 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. America's Pollstar magazine, the so-called Bible for the live music industry, described the first gig as 'mind-blowing', and said it should give everyone working in the industry – and every music fan – renewed confidence in a post-Covid world.
'Styles' ecstatic performances, in which he's in perpetual motion running miles upon miles circling arenas while singing in his rich and wide-ranging baritone and dancing his ass off – yet never breaking a sweat – is something to behold,' Andy Gensler wrote.
In addition to energetic performances of tracks from Harry's House and Fine Line albums, there was also a significant focus on Harry's 'tour-drobe' – particularly his high-waisted and wide-leg trousers, block-heeled boots, and an impressive array of sequinned vests and sparkling shirts.
Split into seven legs and around 170 shows – including a 15-night residency at Madison Square Garden – the tour made more than £452 million in ticket sales alone, with around five million people witnessing his on-stage magic.
Harry described it as 'the greatest experience of my entire life', adding: 'Thank you to my band, and all the crew who made the last few years so special. It's been an absolute pleasure. To everyone who came out to see us play, thank you. I feel so incredibly full and happy, it's all because of you. You have given me memories that will last a lifetime, more than I could have ever dreamed of.'
The sheer scale of Love On Tour made his first tour, Live On Tour, look positively small. It consisted of a comparatively modest 89 shows, running from September 2017 until July the following year, and started in smaller venues before venturing into arenas later in the schedule.
'He very cleverly built upwards,' Michael tells us, 'and made the conscious decision to start in venues like the Hammersmith Apollo, which is more of a theatre. Then he slowly, slowly moved up to arenas like the O2, which holds about 20,000 people, before moving up again to Wembley Stadium. It was a smart way of doing it, because he was learning and proving himself along the way. And now he's got 12 dates in a row at Wembley.'
Unity and Safe Spaces
Beyond the dazzling costumes and energetic performances, Harry injects a powerful sense of unity, acceptance, and community into every tour. 'Please feel free to be whoever it is you choose to be in this room tonight,' he told his Madison Square audience in June 2018, during what Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called an 'emotional onslaught' of a night – but in all the right ways.
Pride flags and 'coming out signs' have become synonymous with Harry's concerts, and he aims to create a 'safe space' for both his fans and himself. 'The feeling that there's a space where people feel safe enough to share those big moments with a room full of people, and share them with us, is probably one of the things I'm most proud of,' he once said.
'The atmosphere created in the room of the shows is a free, incredibly emotionally generous atmosphere. It's one of the first things that people comment on… feeling safe, like a family full of strangers who are all feeling this free evening, and it's kind of an escape.'
