The lights were dim and the room was packed with people when The Beaches stepped onto stage. Many concertgoers may have expected boredom during the openers of Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 How Did I Get Here? tour, however, this concert was a true exception to this generalization. From the first guitar strum and powerfully sung lyrics, the audience was captivated.
I, like much of the audience, was already familiar with The Beaches before experiencing their live performance. The band’s recent popularity is in part due to their 2025 Coachella set, which was referenced in Amazon Prime Video’s hit new hockey romance series “Off Campus,” as well as their song “Edge of the Earth,” which was featured in the show’s second episode. The song quickly became their largest across platforms (I’m sure I made up a good number of those streams). No amount of listening to their music from the comfort of my room at 3 a.m., however, could have prepared me for the combination of stage presence, incredible vocals and audience engagement that made this concert experience truly spectacular.
The setlist featured many songs from their third and newest studio album, No Hard Feelings, along with callbacks to older songs, including “Edge of the Earth” and “Blame Brett,” which is a personal favorite of mine and was even more fun to sing with a theater full of screaming fans. Even those who didn’t know their music were dancing along and looking up the band on their phones.
The fascinating part of this performance was the space The Beaches allowed for their members’ performances to complement one another. Their incredible live vocals were balanced with equally impressive instrumental performances without overshadowing one another at any point of the set. The vibrancy of the drums rang through the theater while high notes from the lead vocalist stunned the audience. The symbiosis between the band’s members lends itself to the great on-stage chemistry that makes their shows uniquely unforgettable.
Apart from the music itself, the band incorporated humor in between each song, making jokes about failed relationships and speaking about their experiences with women and Queerness. The band’s charming personality made the concert that much more enjoyable to watch, making it feel authentic rather than manufactured. In fact, my favorite part of the show was near the end, featuring a wholesome and genuine interaction between The Beaches and Tomlinson’s other opener, Picture Parlour, a British rock band that matched the other band’s electric energy . The two bands danced together for The Beaches’ closing song, mouthing the words together and holding hands.
Deeply personal moments like these remind us that music and concerts are unifying events that are meant to bring people together to enjoy and appreciate their shared love for music. Many people in the audience seemed to feel the same, as they had put their phones away, simply appreciating the music and dancing along. This performance proves that The Beaches’ recent success is not only well deserved, but that it is just the beginning.
Michigan Daily Managing Arts Editor Archisha Parthak can be reached at archpath@umich.edu.
