I have been to many concerts in my life. I have seen many different genres, in different states, with different crowds, and this was definitely one of the best. To start, Steve Lacy is a bundle of joy. He expresses his love for the crowd repeatedly and makes it known how happy he is to be there. He performs with so much personality, which seeps into the crowd and creates a bubble of liveliness in the venue.

This was my second time seeing Steve Lacy, and it was truly a full-circle moment for me, being able to return to one of his shows four years later. To compare the two shows in Steve Lacy’s perspective, the first show I saw was at the Fillmore circa 2022, which has a maximum capacity of 2,500 people. This time around, he shared that this was his biggest show on his tour, filling the venue with 17,000 people. Steve has made immense progress in his career throughout the past few years, and I am so lucky to have witnessed it.

Lacy split his show into two acts, which not a lot of artists do, or at least not as strategically as he did. He walked out to his newest hit song, “oh yeah?,” and immediately had the crowd in a chokehold. He went on to sing the funny parody of “LeBron, LeBron, LeBroooon” in honor of being right next to the city of Philadelphia. I never really understood why artists normally begin with a less known song, I think reeling the audience in from the beginning is a wonderful idea to get the show flowing. To follow this song, he immediately introduced himself, sharing his appreciation for how far he has gotten in his career, and thanked us all for getting him to that point. He established that he would be referring to us as “Jersey/Philly” for the night, and it made the crowd feel more seen and connected to him, almost like we were on a first-name basis, as he continued to refer to us like this throughout the whole show. Lacy showed great amounts of personality throughout the show and made us all feel special and appreciated for being there with him.

After his lovely speech of gratitude, Lacy continued to play through the entirety of his new album, oh yeah?. I thoroughly enjoyed that he did this, and although I was not caught up with all the new songs, I liked that he played every song off the album and brought us through the motions of each song. Steve told us he has not gone through an entire album back to back since he toured for his Apollo XXI album in 2019. I was beyond appreciative to see this moment in Steve Lacy history, which he told us might never happen again. His band was amazing, bringing electricity into Lacy’s more upbeat songs, like “doom,” and then calming us down with the melodies of “nothing.” Steve and his female lead guitarist shredded the stage and wowed the crowd.

After about an hour of Act 1, Steve led us into some good old tunes for Act 2. This was the highlight of my night, and probably the highlight of my month. Being someone who thinks of The Lo-Fis album when Steve is brought up, this was a monumental moment for me. He began the act with “Only If,” then led his way into “C U Girl,” “Sunshine,” “Basement Jack,” “Lay Me Down,” and so many more. Besides his own songs, Steve amazed us with his cover of “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” by The Smiths, as well as throwing in “Curse” by The Internet, which is the band Steve Lacy played guitar for when he was first gaining fame. 

Throughout Act 2, he was taking recommendations from the crowd and playing a minute or two of each song, not following any specific setlist, just giving the crowd what they wanted. He giggled at songs he enjoyed playing and cringed a bit at those he didn’t like as much. You could tell that he was so happy to be there with us, and not just for the money, but for the idea of community and spending this night together.

To end the concert, Lacy played “oh yeah?” as the encore, bringing the crowd right back into the excitement of him coming out to this song. This was a genius idea, and people sang the song twice as loud when he played it the second time around. In this moment, I grabbed my friends, and we all sang in unison as a small way to say, “I love you, that was a great night.”

Being a Gemini myself and seeing Steve on his Gemini Rights tour when I was a junior in high school, his performance of songs from that album brought me back to a place of youth and comfort. You know when you shuffle your playlist and a really good song from when you were younger comes on, and you think, Wow, I forgot how much I loved this song! Imagine that, but in person, jamming out with no worries in the world. I am beyond grateful to have experienced this show again in a new chapter of my life and being able to compare the feeling of being 16 hearing these songs, then experiencing them again at 20.

Although I could go on for hours about the lovely Steve Lacy himself, I figured I could paint a picture to share how cool the venue is, as well.

If you are a Jersey/Philadelphia resident, I am sure you have attended or seen videos of the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. If you have not, then I am here to tell you that you must. I favor this venue over any other I have been to, and I feel more free from the world and connected to the music here than anywhere else. The best thing about this pavilion is that the “general admission” section is on a huge lawn. There’s something special about standing on that massive lawn, surrounded by thousands of people who all came for the same reason: the music. 

As you look to your left, you see the beautiful skyline of Philadelphia, and it is perfect that most shows begin around sunset, painting a beautiful sky over the water while you wait. Then, as the concert begins and it gets dark, you can see the entire skyline light up. These tickets normally sell for cheap, which shocks me because of how well you can see the stage, and you are not squished between people by any means. I have seen a handful of concerts here, and depending on the crowd, people will bring blankets and chairs to set up and enjoy the music from a more relaxed position, bringing a sense of zen into the venue as well. The venue is an easy in-and-out, with no huge groups of people and no traffic that sits still for 45 minutes on the way out. It is simple, beautiful, and a true gem to Jersey/Philadelphia residents.

All in all, I will forever remember the night of October 15th, 2026, and will crack a smile every time I hear a Steve Lacy song in memory of this night. I am a firm believer that nothing in the world can top an October night with friends, dancing in the grass, surrounded by the love of others and the gift of music. Thank you Steve, I’ll be back again. <3 

Me and bestie <3

Beautiful venue

Always true