On the night of May 25, crowds of people engulfed the sidewalks and roads surrounding Ford Field. Seas of red, black and silver flooded into the domed stadium, with girls matching their leather jackets to their knee-high boots and guys sporting the merchandise they just bought. The floor audience gathered under a large reflective female statue, gawking with excitement as they anticipated the last night of The Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn Tour in downtown Detroit.
Although my friends and I missed the opening acts of Playboi Carti and Mike Dean’s openings, we got to our lower bowl seats just in time (enough time that one of my fanatic friends, who went to the concert the previous night as well, confirmed we would have a proper view from our section). The lights dimmed and a brief moment of silence followed before the group of red-cloaked dancers fluidly moved across the stage in a row. They soon revealed The Weeknd dressed in a black shimmering cloak, with his face covered by a shiny reflective black mask.
With six studio albums, many mixtapes and EP’s, The Weeknd’s popularity has shot up exponentially from his debut record House of Balloons in 2011. On this tour, Abel Tesfaye gave a brief rundown of his discography; Tesfaye’s meticulous attention to each song elevated his performance. He opened with “The Abyss,” and the delicate yet powerful piano arpeggios immediately stirred a loud wave of support from the audience. Though not as hyper and energetic as the tracks that followed, the song set a gentler tone to open the night. The crowd, however, was quick to welcome him as he charmingly sang the night’s first lyrics, “I tried my best to not let you go / I don’t like the view / From halfway down.” Lana Del Rey’s vocals served as a heavenly accompaniment to his passionate singing, seamlessly blending with his vocals to match Detroit’s roaring appreciation and exhilaration. He sang, jumped and threw himself into the rhythms of older fan favorites as well as various tracks from his new album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
“São Paulo,” the fourth track from Hurry Up Tomorrow, featuring Anitta, brought a whole new wave of surprises that Tesfaye had reserved for Detroit. Known for its Brazilian funk beats and heavy yet energetic bass, the track boasts 350 million streams on Spotify, being the second most played track on the album. As soon as the song thundered through the loudspeakers, bursts of fire erupted from the sides of the stage, lighting up the arena. With the blazes came a renewed surge of energy, both from the audience and Tesfaye himself. His head-banging choreography, paired with Anitta’s powerful verses, reflected the intensity he drew from the fiery spectacle — an energy he carried through the rest of the concert.
Tesfaye’s passion and enthusiasm were clear from the beginning. During each track’s performance, he included the audience by pointing out each section of the stadium, encouraging them to sing as loudly as they could. At multiple times between tracks, Tesfaye paused to personally thank the audience for their never-ending support of his work as The Weeknd. These quick yet precious moments of vulnerability and openness, especially in the middle of a tightly packed concert, stood out, making The Weeknd shine as both a person and a performer.
Fans particularly lost it when the first two reverbed beats of “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls” started playing over the loudspeaker. The track is one of The Weeknd’s older gems, being the most popular track off the 2011 album House of Balloons. Detroit marked the first time he had performed this track during the tour, so describing this as a surprise is a huge understatement. The stage lights flickered dark and light blue, all while Tesfaye mirrored the audience’s delight with his smooth yet freestyle choreography. Despite jumping around, kneeling eye-to-eye with the front row of the floor audience and traveling back and forth across the stage, his vocals remained crisp and steady, cementing this moment in the concert as a memory I will forever cherish.
Even after the echoes of the last song faded into the darkness, fans continued to mingle in their seats and blow kisses to The Weeknd, given it was their last chance to do so. Tesfaye did something remarkable with his career: painting a second yet genuine identity to produce music while highlighting both the darkest and most hopeful moments of his life. His final performance made a lasting and heartfelt impression on the seats of Ford field, a testament to the persona he has decided to leave behind.
Daily Arts Writer Emily Kim can be reached at kimemily@umich.edu.
