achel Platten's Unforgettable Toronto Concert Highlights

Rachel Platten: The Set Me Free Tour, a night full of letting go and finding your authentic self

Written and Photographed by

Rachel Platten gave fans a night to remember in Toronto, on April 23, 2025. While fans, myself included, were waiting outside the doors of the venue, Rachel made her way running down the street to say “hello” to everybody waiting in line, before the TD Music Hall venue doors opened to the public. As everyone entered the stage area, it was immediately seen that she had a beautiful piano to the left of the stage. Fans, ecstatic for the show to start, lined up at the merch booth to buy a t-shirt or two to support Rachel in providing them with this show for them tonight.

Rachel came out onto the stage, dressed in a sparkle black top, and immediately sat at the grand piano to sing her first song of the night “I know,” brand new off of her new record I Am Rachel Platten. This new record is a shout out to everyone who suffers with some form of mental health. Sharing this as her first song on her setlist is amazing—it shows that, right off the bat, it’s nice to know that you’re not alone in this. Whether you’re a child, young adult or an older fan of Rachels, she always shares music for everyone. After having a small conversation with the crowd about her album and how she went about writing it, she lifted the spirits up by performing “Stand By You,” from her 2016 album Wildfire. Rachel was extremely energetic and performed just like she would if she was in an arena. She is amazing with everyone who comes out to see her show, from the way she gets the crowd singing and dancing with her to the way of her having small chats with audience members in between songs, making everyone in the room feel like they’re best friends.

During “Bad Thoughts,” another song on her new record about mental health, she got the crowd to do a breathing exercise with her while she performed the song. This song is about believing that you’re “bigger than the bad thoughts” and that you’re not going to keep listening to all the negativity surrounding your mind.

Rachel Platten first started her music career back in 2011, with her debut album Be Here. Ever since then, she has always wanted to share her stories with the world, not letting anything or anyone get in her way. Rachel’s song, “Fight Song,” is what made this dream a true reality, with it still being her number one song to this day at over 900,000,000 streams.

There were a lot of exciting events that took place during Rachel’s set: an amazing drum solo at the end of “Mercy,” and Ben Abraham came back onto the stage to perform “Surrendering” as an acoustic duet. There was an impressive cello solo at the end of “Lone Ranger,” and Rachel even performed some beatboxing during “1,000 Ships.” JoJo Dodge came back out to dance with Rachel during “Shivers” from the 2017 album Waves.

Performing her last song of the night, “I Don’t Really Care (Set Me Free),” and leaving the stage, fans immediately started screaming the words to “Fight Song.” Coming back onto the stage almost right away, Rachel also brought her openers back out, Ben Abraham and JoJo Dodge. Starting the encore set with “Fight Song,” she performed it from the grand piano to make it a special acoustic moment. Rachel thanked Toronto for the second time, and just when the audience thought all the encores were over, she had her entire crew and the venue crew go up on stage to sing one last song, “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine Cover). Ben and JoJo stood at the merch table after the show to meet and take photos with fans, ending the night with an extra special touch.

Ben Abraham, originally from Australia, grabbed the hearts of so many new fans. His crowd participation is like no other, as he talks, sings, and jokes around with everyone during his entire set. While singing a few of his songs, there was one in particular, “I Am Here,” where he got the crowd to sing with him, teaching everyone the chorus of the song. Ben also performed a fan favourite, “Never Been Better” which is about his move to LA to pursue his music career, written in the form of a letter to his Mom, adding some humour into the lyricism. Performing his newest single, “A Passing Through,“ which had just been released April 25, 2025, he get’s the crowd feeling sentimental, as Ben is truly a stage performer and fans are excited to see how far he’ll go in the music industry.

JoJo Dodge, originally from Idaho, started off the concert with her song “Miracles,” singing with complete confidence and giving amazing stage presence. JoJo, 22 years old, has an amazingly unique indie-folk sound that suits her style. Performing her brand new single, “Move On So Fast,” she was really engaging with the crowd and her energy was contagious, as she had been performing her whole life. Being invited to perform in Toronto, she shared that this was her first time in Canada, and how excited she was to tour around the city. JoJo finished her set with a cover song of “Kiss Me,” originally from Sixpence None the Richer to get the audience to sing along with her, making new fans by the end of the night.