Photo by: Wes Ellis
On October 9, the Queen City hosted Phoebe Bridgers for a night on her sold-out “Lost Tour.” Fans were in for a highly anticipated, phone-free night with the Bridgers while she’s touring her most recent album, Lost Weekend. The merch lines were wrapped around the arena, and concertgoers were donned in their best alien, skeleton, and spooky attire; we even got a special appearance of three fans dressed as ghost boygenius, aka boogenius!
Alex G started off the night with a packed setlist! While it seems to be a common occurrence at shows for fans to arrive after the opener, tonight was a special case with many fans already seated and excited to watch Alex G’s set! He played songs like “Afterlife,” “Runner,” and “Powerful Man,” as well as some of his biggest hits like “Mary,” “Sarah,” and “Harvey.” Alex G has a rich discography with ten studio albums currently out, as well as scoring films like “We’re All Going To The World’s Fair” (2021), “I Saw The TV Glow” (2024), and “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (2026). He marked Charlotte as one of his favorite cities to play in, and the Queen City can’t wait to have him back on stage!
Photo by: Wes Ellis
In between Alex G’s set and hers, the entire arena joined together to giggle and do the wave! At 9 p.m., Phoebe Bridgers took the stage, and it felt like I had left Charlotte and entered Phoebe’s Universe.
Her set started off with the intro to “The Outside,” which drew fans to look at her b-stage setup, where an orb of light descended down. Her main stage setup had a dome covering it that ended up lifting and rotating in the air, which served as an almost crystal ball throughout the night. When the dome lifted for “Motion Sickness,” Bridgers and her band were met with an uproar. We saw Bridgers adorned in glitter tears, which she kept finding in her hair throughout the night.
After a beautiful rendition of “The Governor’s Waltz,” Bridgers hit us with a “What’s up Charlotte, what’s good!” Bridgers brought her hauntingly beautiful vocals and immensely personal album to the fans and was greeted with love, care, and engagement instead of a sea of phones. Throughout the night, I noticed how much Bridgers was taking in the show, with her face projected in the floating dome, her eyes looking all over the arena, and actually seeing the faces of those who were singing along. During her song “I Can’t Wait” with her brother Jackson, it felt like I was watching an eclipse above the stage. From fans dancing through the strobe lighting of “Kyoto,” her backing band headbanging through “On Video,” which Bridgers wrote for the movie “Primetime” where she also made her acting debut, and the entire arena joining in to scream during “I Know The End,” Bridgers gave fans a once-in-a-lifetime show!
Photo by: Matt Grub
Part of me wants to give an entire rundown of everything that occurred during the show, but I won’t do that. I won’t for multiple reasons: one, I truly can’t list every detail that happened because I made sure to put my notepad down and be present, like she intended us to be. Two, part of the magic of the night was that only those who were there got to experience it. There has been so much talk of this performance, but I was still amazed and surprised by every detail. Moments of the show, like when Bridgers sings “As Above” at the Below Stage, were moments that I knew were climaxes of the night from attendees of prior shows, but I still was awestruck and had goosebumps all over my body from them. Bridgers’ banning devices and recording equipment made every show a surprise for the next city. I deeply appreciate that she is trying to get fans to actually be present at the show and not feel like they have to capture a moment to prove they were there. Social media has made it so people feel like they have to capture/share/post/etc. everything that they do, when really the beauty is right in front of them to see for themselves. As cheesy as that may sound, being able to set aside your device is so important these days. I’m attached to my phone just like everyone else, and I am scrolling way too much, but it is freeing when I get the opportunity to put it down and not worry about what is going on on Instagram. I know she is immensely grateful that the fans are willing to “sacrifice their devices for a few hours” and just be there with her.
As a music photographer, I love being able to capture a show, and I have such a drive to bring back something from every show I attend. Sometimes that includes bringing a point-and-shoot camera, but tonight I brought only a notepad to join in with the fans who have been sketching the night! I am insanely jealous of her photographers for this tour, Matt Grubb and Wes Ellis, because they get the pleasure of being the select few who get to document these gorgeous performances. While I hope to get to photograph Bridgers one day and maybe even get the opportunity to work with her in the future, I want to thank her for making this experience one that made me remember how much of a pleasure and privilege it is to just attend a show without my camera!
Photo by: Wes Ellis
The “Lost Tour” continues on with stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Canada, and multiple stops in Texas and California with Alex G. She will then take her tour to the United Kingdom and Europe throughout November, with Isaac Wood joining her on the road!
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