While he is Spotify’s #2 artist with a whopping 111 million listeners, The Weeknd’s two show stop at Hard Rock Stadium, August 15-16, went unnoticed by many in the Benjamin community. Released in January, his sixth studio album came as a surprise to many. The Weeknd started his After Hours tour in 2022, but added new dates in North America after the album’s release. The tour’s new title? After Hours til Dawn.
With forty-one songs on his setlist, the Weeknd captivated Miami for nearly three hours. His biggest hits made the stadium shake, and some of his new songs did, too.
All it took was the first few notes of “Die for You” for concertgoers to become a chorus. The Weeknd even performed a verse acapella style, figuratively blowing the non-existent roof off the stadium. The other hits he performed, such as “Star Boy,” “Heartless,” and “Take My Breath,” received similar reactions from the crowd.
A concert at this scale would never be complete without a guest star or two. The tour opening act for the North American leg is rapper Playboi Carti. Together, they performed the hit songs “Timeless” and “I’d Rather Lie.” The crowd went wild when they heard more than a backtrack of rapper Future’s voice. He came out to sing an electric rendition of their song “Low Life.”
Originally, Hard Rock was only supposed to host the Canadian singer for one night. Ticket sales flew through the roof fast enough to add a Saturday show. Some students took advantage of the presale back in February. A link on the Weeknd’s website directed users to a sign up page, which then automatically put them in a queue during the sale. The lucky ones found well-priced tickets in a good spot.
“My friends and I all got together in the study hall to buy tickets,” said sophomore Melea Morgan. One of them even skipped the last twenty minutes of an AP class just to wait with us. We got five tickets for $150 each in decent seats, but plus taxes and fees, it was like $250.”
Not everyone who attended planned so far ahead, especially those who waited for the prices to drop at the last minute.
“I woke up from a nap at 4 P.M. to my mom asking me, ‘Do you want to go to the Weeknd?’ I was at the concert by 7 P.M. It was a good decision to wait it out because I got floor seats for $400, and two weeks before, the same tickets were over $600,” said senior Alyssa Saraqui.
Overall, the consensus shows that both nights were 10/10. From the sound system to the setlist, the crowd participation to the vocals, it was truly a Weeknd to remember.
