After Charli XCX’s sixth studio album Brat had a chokehold on social media this summer, Charli XCX’s and Troye Sivan’s Sweat Tour has captured the world’s attention. The co-headliner tour started just a few weeks ago, about a year after Troye released his third studio album Something to Give Each Other featuring his hit songs “Rush” and “One of Your Girls.” When Troye and Charli announced their combined tour in the Spring of this year, my friends and I immediately got presale tickets, even before Charli had released Brat. In the weeks leading up to the concert in Columbus, the Sweat Tour was all Kenyon students were talking about. When we finally arrived, you could feel a Kenyon-heavy presence in the audience, with about 10 different groups of Kenyon students passing us when we were outside of our section.
Neon “Brat” green or all-black leather outfits filled the Nationwide arena. English singer and DJ Shygirl opened the concert, setting the dance-pop energy for the night. The concert, lasting over 2 hours, felt like a 2-in-1 — 3-in-1 if you count Shygirl’s performance.
My friends and I sat in the back of the nosebleeds (5 rows away from the wall) but even from far away we still felt immersed in the concert. The intense and energetic lighting during the performances made me feel like I was in a club, and the strobe lights were flashing so hard the whole time I was grateful that I brought my sunglasses. Throughout the concert, I was slightly hoping that a special guest would come out (cough cough Billie Eillish), but Troye and Charli made up for it by collaborating on a lot of their album’s songs.
The one thing about this concert that disappointed me was the way Troye was overlooked by the crowd. Charli XCX has a larger fanbase than Troye does, but it seems like some of the audience didn’t even bother to listen to his music before the concert. Hopefully, those who didn’t know him so well before the concert now have begun listening to his music after seeing him live. The choreography in Troye’s performances was mesmerizing, although sometimes everything looked like a blur from the nosebleeds.
Even in the back of the stadium, the Sweat Tour was definitely worth the money. I was so impressed by the level of energy maintained throughout the concert. Charli and Troye barely took any breaks between their songs, and even I was out of breath. The crowd’s excitement matched the enthusiasm of the two performers, especially because this was one of the first concerts of their two-month-long tour. It hurt a little to see Addison Rae and Lorde come out a week later at the Madison Square Garden concert, but Troye saying “We’ve heard so much about you Columbus!” helped ease the pain.