Conan Gray took the stage at Madison Square Garden on September 30th, presenting his new album, Found Heaven. Before Conan made his appearance at 8:45 PM that night, Maisie Peters came out for the opening act. She played songs from her newest album The Good Witch such as “Body Better,” “You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)” and lastly “The Band and I.” She finished up her performance by playing two last songs, “Blonde,” and “John Hughes Movie.” In the minutes right before Conan came out, he played “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande as well as “Kiwi” by Harry Styles to occupy the sold out crowd.
Conan took the stage right at 8:45, accompanied by the screaming from the crowd. Starting his setlist off by playing “Fainted Love” and “Never Ending Song,” the crowd sang along with every word. There was no doubt Conan’s energy was ecstatic that night. “Never Ending Song” was amazing in a live setting, and Conan’s octave jumps without breaking a sweat as he jogs, jumps, and bounds across the stage during every song that night.
Conan Gray during Fainted Love
Conan sped through nine songs in the first 30 minutes, leaving extra room for the emotional rollercoaster of a song, “Family Line.” The crowd cheers Conan on as he starts tearing up during the performance. After that, he grabs his guitar to play “The Story” before debuting his newest song “Holidays,” set to release in, by Conan’s testimony “A few weeks.” Overall, Conan did a great job of showing off his debut album, “Found Heaven” as well as showcasing his greatest hits, such as “Heather,” and “Wish You Were Sober.”
After a quick fade out, Conan returned for his encore. The encore consisted of his songs, “Bourgeoisieses,” “Maniac,” and lastly “Alley Rose.” Making a perfect end to a perfect concert that night.
Personal Testimonies (Everyone Listed Attended The Concert):
Ava Gundersen (Pascack Valley HS):
“How did you feel when conan stepped on stage”
ava: “Super excited to see my favorite artist and impressed because his entrance was really cool!”
“What was your favorite song he played”
ava: ‘“ALLEY ROSE’ my fav song of his, it was the last encore song”
“What was your favorite memory or part of the concert”
ava: “Probably when he played us an unreleased song OR when he did the iconic costume change”
“How was the overall experience if you had to sum it up”
ava: The best concert I’ve ever been to (granted im biased bc he is my favorite artist)!! It was so so so much fun and Conan is INSANELY talented!!”
Alex Wells (Pascack Valley HS):
“How did you feel when conan stepped on stage”
alex: “When Conan stepped on stage I SCREAMED. Immediately I could feel his energy (along with the crowd’s excitement) and his stage presence because it was so strong. I also just felt so happy because I had waited a while to go and I was so grateful that I was finally seeing him live”
“What was your favorite song he played”
alex: “Even tho this isn’t my fav song of his, Boys & Girls was SO MUCH FUN live— there were flashing lights, he was dancing sm, and again the energy was just so high which definitely made it my fav”
“What was your favorite memory or part of the concert”
alex: “Oooh ok so my favorite part of the concert was probably during ‘Jigsaw’ when the lights went crazy and everyone was screamingggg the lyrics. Also a fav memory was when he played ‘The Story’ and my friend Kayla and I started crying because he was so good and it was a sad song LOLL”
“How was the overall experience if you had to sum it up”
alex: “This is gonna sound dramatic but it was literally freeing I swear like it was just so fun and care-free and if I could re-experience it I 100% would #iloveconcerts”
Kayla Klas (Pascack Valley HS):
“how did you feel when conan stepped on stage”
kayla: “I remember I was mid convo with my friend Alex and then all of the sudden the lights shut off. I remember my heart dropping and screaming my head off because I was so excited!!”
“what was your favorite song he played”
kayla: “So he played an unreleased song at the time, holidays, which was actually MAGICAL but my favorite song from the set list was either ‘Alley Rose’ or ‘Memories!”’
“what was your favorite memory or part of the concert”
kayla: “My favorite part was spending it with one of my best friends and also the best part for me was during memories when he sang the line ‘i’m trying to get over this…’ and then there was a moment of silence and i SCREAMED ‘I’M NEVER GETTING OVER THIS!!’”
“how was the overall experience if you had to sum it up”
kayla: “Literally no words can ever describe the experience of seeing him love. I got into Conan Gray during covid and ever since then I’ve been a HUGEEEEE fan like maniac was literally my favorite song ever!! but overall it was one of the best experiences of my life and I will never forget it bc he’s one of the first artists to really change my life tbh‼️”
Ava Sung (Holy Angels HS):
“how did you feel when Conan stepped on stage”
ava: “Like I was about to have a heart attack and faint in the best way possible”
“what was your favorite song he played”
ava: “I can’t choose! Probably family line because of the trauma that redacted through the screams of the audience”
“what was your favorite memory or part of the concert”
ava: “Literally the whole thing was one of the best memories I could ever have”
“how was the overall experience if you had to sum it up”
ava: “Breathtaking.”
Based on all of these testimonies from crowd members that night, there is zero doubt that Conan brought massive amounts of energy to his performance. Many stated it was a “life changing experience” for them. Out of everyone interviewed, there is zero thought it wasn’t worthwhile. Let’s hope Conan makes his way back to Madison Square Garden Soon!
Conan During His Encore Alley Rose
Conan Gray’s Madison Square Garden setlist:
- Fainted Love
- Never Ending Song
- Wish You Were Sober
- Eye of the Night
- Killing Me
- The Exit
- People Watching
- The Cut That Always Bleeds
- Jigsaw
- Family Line
- The Story
- Holidays
- Astronomy
- Found Heaven
- Boys & Girls
- Lonely Dancers
- Winner
- Heather
- Memories
Encore:
- Bourgeoisieses
- Maniac
- Alley Rose
