
Pop Superstar, Conan Gray has been on tour for his latest album released earlier this year, “Found Heaven”. Heavily inspired by the 80’s and iconic artists like David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Queen, the sound and aesthetic of the “Found Heaven” era was one that I knew I couldn’t miss; especially since Conan has been one of my favorite artists for a few years now and I’ve never gotten to see him live; AND the special guest for the United States leg of the tour was another one of my top favorite artists, Maisie Peters. Being in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (where not a lot of artists seem to go now-a-days?!) the closest show to me was 4 and a half hours away from me in Philadelphia. I knew getting to see two of my favorite people at the same time like this was a once in a life time opportunity, and so I took it. On October 1st, 2024, I went to The Highmark Skyline Stage at The Mann Center on the outskirts of Philadelphia and Found Heaven.
I took my fiancé with me and we traveled the day before and stayed at a hotel so we could get to the venue early since it was a general admission show. We showed up 4 hours early, and we were given bracelets to save our spots in line ( we were number 260 and 261 out of the sold out show of 7,500 people). We were able to buy merch early and we sat for 4 hours waiting for gates to open. We managed to make it decently close to the stage, but as a very short person I unfortunately never get the best view. Shout out to all my fellow shorties out there. I just look in between people’s heads whenever I can, and luckily there were screens.
Maisie Peters came out, and played an impressive 11-song opening set. I saw her last year on her “The Good Witch” Tour, and just in one year I can tell that she has gained so much confidence in herself as a performer. Not only was her stage presence phenomenal, but vocals were better than I’ve ever heard them before. She totally rocked that stage like it was her own. There were moments that I felt so lucky to witness, like being there during “The Band and I” when she sings “In Philadelphia, it was crystal clear we are the best damn band that’s ever played right here” and it actually being in Philadelphia. Also, during “There It Goes” (which is my favorite song) we got to sing the lyric “I wake up and it’s October” with her on the first of October, which was very special to me as a Maisie fan.

After Maisie finished her set, they dropped a ginormous black flag down which cover the entirety of the stage with the Found Heaven symbol on it. We waited for a while before out of no where, the intro to “Found Heaven” began to play, lights began to flash, and smoke began to fill the air; and just like that, the giant flag dropped to the ground and Conan Gray was raised on a platform as the song transitioned to “Fainted Love”. When I tell you I’ve never heard a sea of girls scream so loud in my life… I mean it - and I’ve been to Taylor Swift and One Direction concerts with crowds that were 10 times bigger. For this show, he wore a shining silver leather vest and pants, with the words “Found Heaven” painted like graffiti on the back.
I loved how he had a lot of fan favorites on his set list, and a great big variety from all three of his albums, not just “Found Heaven” (although he did leave out the tracks “Miss You” and “Forever With Me” which would’ve been so good live and I was sad). But it’s okay, because he played some serious deep cuts like “Family Line”, “The Story”, and “The Cut That Always Bleeds” which he used to perfectly transition into “Jigsaw” turning the show into a full blown rock concert.
There were so many moments where you felt like you were really at a concert in the 80’s, with all the bright neon lights and Conan’s iconic hair and fun dance moves. Songs like “Never Ending Song”, “Lonely Dancers”, “Eye of the Night”, “Boys and Girls”, and of course we can’t forget “Bourgeoiseses”, made the night nostalgic and danceable. Then there were moments where things were more emotional and crowd connecting; when Conan grabbed his guitar and played more of his softer music like “The Story”, “Astronomy”, and his viral song “Heather”.
During Conan’s acoustic moment in the concert, something crazy happened and we were the city that was so lucky to be chosen for this. Conan decided he was going to premier a brand new, never heard before song for us, which is planned to releases in just a few weeks. Everyone prepared themselves, and went quiet so we could listen to this new song, except for one person who unfortunately ruined the moment for us all by crying as loudly as she possibly could for the entire song. Anyone else who was there at this concert will know what I was talking about, and I’m so sorry to everyone whose videos of the new song also got ruined by this girls’ unnecessary wailing and hollering.
Conan played more of his hit songs during the duration of his concert, like “People Watching”, “Memories”, and “Maniac”, but once it was time for the show to come to an end, his final song was none other than “Alley Rose” which is what he considers to be his best song and his personal favorite of his own. After going through one of the best bridges of all time, Conan hits his belting note and thousands of Found Heaven shaped confetti pieces shoot into the air. It was a cathartic way to end the show.
Conan Gray is one of the best songwriters within our current generation of pop music. Not only that, but he has a voice most singers wish they had. He’s got an infectious personality that draws people to him, and he performs one heck of a show. Found Heaven on Tour is an incredible concert with a perfectly crafted setlist for true Conan Gray fans who really know him and connect to him and his music. I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and concerts with crowds almost 10 times bigger, and I’ve never heard people sing so loud in my life. Honestly, the crowd was singing so loud at times that I could barely hear Conan himself. I won’t lie, there were some concert etiquette issues and I do feel Conan deserves a lot better respect from some of his fans (especially the younger teenage generation). I think Conan enjoys hearing his fans sing back to him or else he wouldn’t hold his mic out to the crowd so much, but there’s a time to scream your head off and a time to be calm and listen. I also think liking an artist for how they look instead of what their music is about is extremely wrong, which is another thing I became aware of being surrounded by high schoolers. Conan Gray is an artist for the kids out there who don’t have proper parents, for the kids out there who feel alone, or like it’s not possible for them to be loved. I usually like to keep my reviews as positive as possible, but I felt this was an issue than needed to be addressed. Please be aware of your surroundings when you’re at a concert, and think about how your behaviors are effecting other people.
Thank you so much for reading my review. Despite the people attending the concert, Conan Gray himself is absolutely amazing and his show is out of this world. He has worked so hard to make this tour a legendary experience, and I do recommend going if you have the chance to!
Written By Kaitlyn Nicole
*copyright not intended. Fair use act, section 107.