Harry Styles Dominates Slane As Love On Tour Continues
Music returned to one of the world’s most iconic (and beautiful) venues on June 10th when Harry Styles and his incredible supporting lineup of Mitch Rowland, Annie Mac, Wet Leg, and Inhaler took over Slane Castle.
As a huge Harry stan, and music fan in general, I knew this was an event I couldn’t miss. Since I am away studying abroad in Spain for the summer, I knew I simply had to find my way over to Dublin for this couldn’t-be-missed concert.
Located in Slane, Ireland – about a 45 minute drive from Dublin – fans come from all over the world with their boas and heart shaped sunglasses to witness the historic performance.
Now for those who don’t know, getting to Slane Castle is a challenge in and of itself. Firstly, you have to taxi or take a bus from Dublin to the town of Slane. Up next is the 30-minute walk from the parking and drop-off areas through the town and to the Castle itself. While the walk was daunting, the entire town had been turned into Harry’s House. Lining the streets of this picturesque Irish town were merch vendors, bracelet trading, pubs with Harry-themed drinks, and a plethora of love.
Now, I’m a concert junkie, but I have never been as excited for a show as I was waiting in the Bishopsgate Pod in Slane. Despite the rain and the heat, fans eagerly waited for several hours anticipating Harry to pop up on stage.
All the openers were absolutely wonderful, but hearing Inhaler’s “Dublin in Ecstasy” in Ireland, with Bono looming in the back of the pit really couldn’t be topped. However as the clock nears 9 pm and fans hear the elusive “Peace Piece”, the song Harry plays prior to his arrival on stage, the anticipation peaks. When the Daydreaming intro plays and the Love on Tour visuals appear on screen the entire crowd screams, and is in complete awe of the incredible Harry Styles.
Styles is absolutely golden on stage as he sprints around, hyping up the crowd in his low-waisted white pants and green and silver unzipped jacket. Watching the crowd watch Harry was an unreal scene, behind me were over 80,000 fans who were all living in the same moment as me, and all I could feel was an overwhelming feeling of love.
There is truly no one doing it like Harry is right now. Never does he drop his energy, and the crowd is engaged throughout his performances. He assured us that tonight would be special; and special did it prove to be.
Styles threw in his song, Little Freak as a surprise to fans, and preformed it on the catwalk as fans revelved in his aura. Hearing the entire crowd yell back “you never saw my birthmark” was something so special. This is what I love most about concerts, no one around me knew each other, some didn’t speak the same language, and yet many of us left as new friends, all brought together by our love for music and Harry.
Some of the best performances of the set came during what Styles has deemed, “the disco medley” in which he plays a lot of his higher energy songs like: Music for a Sushi Resturaunt, What Makes You Beautiful, and Treat People with Kindness. We all went crazy as Harrry ran by the Bishopsgate Pod enthusiastically flying a pride flag over his head in the air.
Styles closed out his set (prior to the encore) with one of my personal favorites, Fine Line. While this song is always phenomenal, something about hearing it within this crowd, and in this environment made it into something absolutely ethereal. Harry truly makes me feel like “we’ll be alright”.
However, the excitement didn’t end here, as Styles reappeared after several minutes for his usual encore performance. Following a powerful performance of Sign of the Times, followed by fireworks at the end of the song, fans anxiously await to see what is next.
The lights all go out, and just as quickly flicker back on red and pink, and instantaneously everyone recognized the drum intro for Medicine. For those who don’t know, Medicine is one of Harry’s unreleased tracks, and he plays it every so often at his Love on Tour gigs, but hearing it live is something truly indescribable.
It’s hard to even hear Harry through fans screaming “If you go out tonight, I’m going out ’cause I know you’re persuasive”. I’m lucky enough to say I’ve experienced Medicine live before at a different show, but something about Slane Castle just made the entire performance that much better.
The iconic guitar riff plays the song out, and Harry reappears to thank the crowd before starting the last two songs. You can see the emotion in his face and he sends his gratitude to each and every person in the crowd, all while the beautiful castle glows in the background.
Being a fan of Harry for years, and watching his solo career start at small intimate venues, to now be playing a sold out show at the Slane Castle, it’s hard to believe, and I’m so happy for all his successes.
Just as everyone is about to burst into tears watching Harry on stage thank you, “C’mon Harry, we wanna say goonight to you,” plays over the speakers, and just like that we’re screaming the chorus of As It Was, which I truly think is one of his best live songs, the crowd energy is crazy as he sings the iconic “leave America” line.
Kiwi begins and every person at the show is on their feet jumping and screaming out “I’m having you baby!” Fireworks are shooting off above the stage as the entire area goes crazy. The sky is lit up, but nothing shone as bright as Mr. Styles did tonight.
And just as quickly as it started, Harry and Pauli are doing their iconic dance, as the music ends. Harry runs around stage and waves goodbye one last time, and Harry disappears backstage.
Harry’s performance at Slane was a once-in-a-generation kind of event and proves Harry to be one of the biggest artists in the world. This was an experience I will never forget, and am forever grateful to be a part of. With just a couple of shows left, Harry has announced this will be the final leg of the tour, and he will take a break from touring. While we’ll all miss him, just know that HS4 is in the works!
