Acceptance and Equality at YUNGBLUD Shows

Written by Faith Logue

Graphic by Emily Lantzy

          Way back in March, the young and newly upcoming political-rock artist YUNGBLUD announced a new USA tour. I sat in class with anticipation as I opened up the tour poster that accompanied the announcement. My eyes scanned the poster as I saw that there was a New York date! Even better — Buffalo! I was so excited that I purchased tickets as soon as they went on sale, and I was happy I did because the tickets sold out very quickly.

          Flash forward to July 9; the day that I was counting down until had finally arrived. I woke up at about 4 AM because I was so anxious that I couldn’t sleep! I got dressed and packed my stuff up, and at about 6:20 AM, I left to go to the venue. To my surprise, there were actually two other crazed fans at the venue as well! They were both very nice, and I knew it was going to be a good day.

          The first 50 concertgoers in line got to meet YUNGBLUD for free, and I was number three! The day went by very slowly as people started joining the line, but before I knew it, the moment had arrived and I was going into the venue to meet YUNGBLUD.

          He was very kind and I was able to give him a bracelet I made, which he really enjoyed. I hugged him twice, took a photo, and then went to the stage. I was front row near the center, which made waiting 12+ hours in line so worth it.

          At about 8 PM, the opener Saint PHNX came onstage. I knew some of their songs, so I was dancing and singing along as much as I could. The crowd was very hyped, which is always great to see during an opener’s set. I even made it onto Saint PHNX’s Instagram story after their set, which was super cool!

          Finally, at around 9:15 PM, YUNGBLUD came onstage. He played a variety of songs, switching from songs off of his first EP like “King Charles” and almost every song off of his year-old debut album, 21st Century Liability. He also played an unreleased song called “Icecream Man,” and I cannot wait to hear the studio version when it is released.

          One of the highlights of the show was when YUNGBLUD held up a pride flag about halfway through his set that someone had thrown onstage. I was very happy to be in the crowd and know that he accepts everyone for who they are, no matter their race, gender, or sexuality.

          In conclusion, if YUNGBLUD is making a tour stop in your city this year, please attend it — the acceptance and the positive atmosphere within the crowd is just enough reason to attend one of his shows.