Skip to main content
The faithful arrived wearing hair bows. It’s the signature style for fans of the pop star Gracie Abrams, as some of us learned when we were approximately three blocks away from her Thursday, Sept. 5, concert at Moda Center’s Theater of the Clouds and saw a sea of bows bopping toward the arena.
Once inside, the throngs of teenagers stood in polite lines for the best photo spots near the stage, purchased as much merch as their parents would let them, and scream-sang lyrics back to the songstress with such passion their little bodies practically doubled over. It was glorious.
Abrams, 25, played an impressive and generous 90-minute set to kick off the tour in support of her sophomore album, The Secret of Us. The last time she headlined in Portland, it was 2022 at the Wonder Ballroom, a venue about one-tenth the size.
“This album is the result of a lot of big feelings happening in a short period of time,” she said before playing one of her biggest hits, “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” She switched easily between piano and guitar all night, but seemed equally comfortable with no instrument, just dancing, interacting with the audience and confidently working the stage in a vintage-style overlay dress over a black bra and leggings.
Quibbles? Yes. The songs “Risk” and “Blowing Smoke” are two of the best off her new record, but she flew through them at the top of the show at too quick of a tempo. Let those bops breathe! She wisely devoted more space to the stellar “Close to You” and “Us” (originally a duet with Taylor Swift) in the encore.
The Swift influence thrums through The Secret of Us with Abrams’ lyrically rich verses and her affinity for a killer bridge. But defining Abrams by her proximity to Swift or her boyfriend or her famous father (Google it if you must) is tired. This time around, the crowd was all hers.