Photojournalist: Kiera
Though it certainly wasn’t summer in Chicago on such a chilly evening, Khalid brought his It’s Always Summer Somewhere Tour to shivering fans at Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on May 20th.
Despite the cold, it was evident that Khalid was born to perform; he breezed through his nearly 40-song setlist with ease. Throughout most of the show, he was positively beaming with an infectiously happy smile, as if there was truly nowhere else he would rather be in that moment. It set the most invigorating tone for the evening.
In the same way, Khalid seemed to feed off the crowd’s equally infectious, joyful energy. He sent many hand-hearts to the fans in front of him, even pausing his performance at one point to grab his phone and joyfully film a fan presumably dancing in the crowd. He genuinely could not break eye contact with fans at the barricade at some moments; he was so intent on smiling along with them.
gif by Kiera
His set design was rather industrial, in perfect coordination with his industrial gray jumpsuit he wore for the first half of his performance (which hopefully kept him warm despite “feels like” temperatures dropping into the high 40s). His backdrop was an impressively realistic and adaptive digital display that always seemed to flatter the song being performed.
Khalid’s dancers brought incredible energy despite likely being frozen to the bone in their summery streetwear outfits. That became even more apparent after a brief costume change saw the dancers return to the stage in lingerie later in the evening, as “feels like” temperatures dropped closer to the low 40s. It didn’t dampen their liveliness, nor Khalid’s, in any noticeable way.
Khalid’s show was an ode to fans and to his evolution as an artist, through and through. He shared meaningful morsels of who he was and what his music meant to him: he shared that his 2024 album, Sincere, saved his life; he took time to pay tribute to his past eras and perform some deeper cuts in between his more upbeat songs. And perhaps most heartwarmingly, he invited two fans on stage for an extremely intimate moment in which he performed “yes no maybe” alongside the fans seated on stage.
The night concluded at a “feels like” temperature of 39 degrees, but the exuberant energy of the crowd during the closing performance of “Young Dumb & Broke” kept everyone feeling great. It was the most joyful concert I’ve attended in a long time, and Khalid set the bar high for what it means to be a performer.
Khalid’s North American tour has only just kicked off, running through late June. This is a tour you won’t want to miss.
photos by Kiera
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