Nearly two years ago, Harry Styles announced his “Fancy Dress Party” two night only event in Madison Square Garden called “Harryween,” happening on Halloween eve and Halloween night. Due to Covid-19, the show had to be postponed from 2020 to 2021 to ensure the safety of everyone. On October 30th, 2021, I had the pleasure of attending the very first Harryween show and I am here to give you all the details.
The show was called “Harryween: Fancy Dress Party,” which is essentially just British for costume party (this is how I’ve been explaining it to people who had never heard of the event). Fans came to the show dressed to the nines, wearing their best clothes (do you get the Sign of the Times reference?), or costumes rather. The city was filled with people in costumes getting ready to have the time of their lives at the hottest halloween party of the year: Harryween. Feathers from people’s boas littered the floor and glitter could be seen on people from miles away. A few of my favorite costumes I saw that night include the multiple “baker Harry’s” (Styles used to work in a bakery before he got his start on the X Factor), angels, Marvel characters, members of his band, and my personal favorite, “Ted Lasso.” I dressed as Juliet from “Romeo + Juliet” (the one with Leonardo DiCaprio), wearing a long white dress, angel wings, a cross necklace similar to the one Claire Danes wore in the film, and body glitter everywhere. The most anticipated costume of the night however was Harry’s. He took the stage dressed as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz,” with the rest of his band members dressed as characters as well. He looked absolutely darling wearing a big bow in his hair and red tights.
Many fans anticipated the setlist to be different from his “Love On Tour” setlist. They were relatively the same, but he did add in and take away a few songs. Harry performed “To Be So Lonely,” a fan favorite from his sophomore album “Fine Line,” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to match the “Wizard of Oz” theme. Songs he took away from the setlist include “Sunflower, Vol. 6,” “Woman,” and “Fine Line.” On night 2 of Harryween he did a special performance of an unreleased song titled “Medicine,” which is another fan favorite, and “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
As this special event was two nights only, dedicated fans traveled from all around the United States to see the show at Madison Square Garden in New York City (including myself). Because nearly everyone at the show was a super dedicated fan, they went absolutely insane. The floor was shaking during “Kiwi,” the final song he performs. Styles tells the crowd to jump with him during his hit “Treat People With Kindness,” to which the crowd went absolutely wild. He appeared to be absolutely thrilled that New York City was giving him their all, never wiping the smile off of his face.
One of my favorite aspects of any Harry show I’ve been to is his interactions with the crowd. He told the sold out Madison Square Garden about his love for Halloween and how when he was seven years old he forgot to buy a costume, resulting in him dressing in all brown and telling people he was a wolf. When looking into the pit to read signs, he spotted a fan who claimed it was their birthday. He quickly recognized the fan from another show she attended and called her out for lying, in the sweetest way possible of course. His ability to recognize fans and interact with them absolutely warms my heart.
Harry ended the show with “Kiwi,” as I mentioned earlier, where you could feel the floor of MSG shaking from all the jumping. Right after the final note of the song, he innocently picks up his basket with a stuffed Toto inside and runs to the side of the stage to click his heels three times. He then left the stage, leaving everyone in shock at everything that just happened in that room.