Gracie Abrams "Good Riddance" Tour at Emo's in Austin
March 25th, 2023
My 7th and final show of March and it was back at the venue where we started off the month!Despite my hectic month of traveling and going to all of these shows, this one was highly, highly anticipated for me. I have been listening to Gracie for several years now, as I discovered her on Spotify back when she only had one single released on the platform. I got the chance to see her open for Phoebe Bridgers at one of the ACL after shows in late 2021 with two of my three sisters, but that show did not go as perfectly as planned for us—my youngest sister got sick during Gracie's first live performance of her (then) unreleased song "Better," which later became one of the songs on her pre-debut album This is What it Feels Like. Regardless, her performance then was amazing, and I could not wait to see her in early 2022 when her headlining tour was announced to come through Dallas... which did wind up getting canceled the day of the show because Gracie was sick.
I could not express in words how disappointed I was to find my show had been canceled. I had VIP tickets to the soundcheck experience with Gracie and I was determined to be front row with my sister, as our "redemption show" after our first mildly unfortunate Gracie concert experience in October. I still followed along closely with the tour, seeing her hit all of her other stops, holding out hope that Texas would be rescheduled. I wanted my chance to see Gracie play a full set in a small venue because I had a feeling she would be moving on to bigger and better things pretty soon. Later in the year, she announced she would be opening for Olivia Rodrigo (outside of Texas, of course) and I thought that was the end of it for me. I knew she would gain quite a bit of fame and recognition from a tour as big and successful as that one, and I thought my one and only chance to see her in an intimate setting has passed. She then announced she would be opening for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, which was one of the most bittersweet concert announcements I had ever seen. I am so proud of her and how far her career has come in such a short span of time, but I knew I would never get the chance to see her in a smaller venue after she started on the Eras Tour.Then she announced her Good Riddance tour. She would be playing small venue shows around her Eras tour dates, hitting stops in the surrounding areas, and I bought my tickets as soon as I could. I naively did not expect there to be much of a fight in the ticketing queue for Gracie's solo shows, but I did wind up getting my tickets during the Emo's Austin general sale after failing to be successful through two rounds of the presale. My youngest sister, Elli, has become as big of a Gracie fan as I am, so the two of us bought VIP upgrades for the soundcheck experience this time around as well. We did not plan to "camp" much for Gracie, but we wound up getting to the venue around 10:30 a.m. the day of the show. We were in the second row in front of Gracie's piano, which was the perfect spot for soundcheck and an excellent spot for the concert itself. My other two sisters, Addi and Bryna, bought regular general admission tickets and came to the venue when the doors opened, and they found a pretty good spot on the left side of the stage.
The opener was Tiny Habits, whom I have followed on Tiktok for a little while under the influence of my oldest sister. They were incredible in their own right. Their set was very acoustic and laid back, but it kept up the intimate and sweet energy from the soundcheck experience, and I loved getting to see them as well. I just saw they announced they are opening for Lizzy McAlpine in Europe and their first EP just came out last week, both of which are big news that were very exciting to hear about! (And the EP is amazing, it features many of the songs they played opening for Gracie, so I loved it! I'd recommend you check out Tiny Things by Tiny Habits if you haven't yet. That's what I'm listening to as I am writing this).Unlike my first time seeing Gracie in Austin, every single person in the packed venue seemed to know all of the words to all of her songs. Regardless of if they were new or old, everyone screamed along to her entire set. Though I definitely used to be, I am not much of a "concert-crier" anymore. I think it is because I go to so many shows and I do not get overwhelmed by the sensation that is live music as much anymore. However, I do find myself getting emotional seeing people do what they love or put their energy into something they are so passionate about in all kinds of instances (sports events, talent shows, performances of any kind, you get it). So yes, I cried for a good portion of Gracie's set. I have decided after discussing with my sisters and my parents that the tears came from the excitement of the moment, not anything sad. I have waited so long to see her in such a small space with people who shared a love for her music, and being so close and so involved in the moment was enough to get the tears flowing for me. Gracie is one of the sweetest, most genuine artists I have seen, and her VIP experience was everything I hoped it'd be—intimate, special, and it gave me an amazing memory to take away. She is full of insight and she is an incredible writer, which can be seen in both her music and her gentle words between songs, and I was so insanely excited to see her open for Taylor Swift on her first night of the Eras tour the following Saturday (which will be a separate post... Taylor Swift herself is too much ground to cover for a combined post).
It has been an honor (and a major bragging point) to see Gracie grow from so early on in her career as a singer-songwriter, and I can't wait to see where life takes her in the future. I know she is going to continue to shine wherever she winds up.
I could not express in words how disappointed I was to find my show had been canceled. I had VIP tickets to the soundcheck experience with Gracie and I was determined to be front row with my sister, as our "redemption show" after our first mildly unfortunate Gracie concert experience in October. I still followed along closely with the tour, seeing her hit all of her other stops, holding out hope that Texas would be rescheduled. I wanted my chance to see Gracie play a full set in a small venue because I had a feeling she would be moving on to bigger and better things pretty soon. Later in the year, she announced she would be opening for Olivia Rodrigo (outside of Texas, of course) and I thought that was the end of it for me. I knew she would gain quite a bit of fame and recognition from a tour as big and successful as that one, and I thought my one and only chance to see her in an intimate setting has passed. She then announced she would be opening for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, which was one of the most bittersweet concert announcements I had ever seen. I am so proud of her and how far her career has come in such a short span of time, but I knew I would never get the chance to see her in a smaller venue after she started on the Eras Tour.Then she announced her Good Riddance tour. She would be playing small venue shows around her Eras tour dates, hitting stops in the surrounding areas, and I bought my tickets as soon as I could. I naively did not expect there to be much of a fight in the ticketing queue for Gracie's solo shows, but I did wind up getting my tickets during the Emo's Austin general sale after failing to be successful through two rounds of the presale. My youngest sister, Elli, has become as big of a Gracie fan as I am, so the two of us bought VIP upgrades for the soundcheck experience this time around as well. We did not plan to "camp" much for Gracie, but we wound up getting to the venue around 10:30 a.m. the day of the show. We were in the second row in front of Gracie's piano, which was the perfect spot for soundcheck and an excellent spot for the concert itself. My other two sisters, Addi and Bryna, bought regular general admission tickets and came to the venue when the doors opened, and they found a pretty good spot on the left side of the stage.
And to Gracie Abrams herself: I love you! Thank you for bringing me and my sisters together, and thank you for the chance to cry with you in a room of 1,300 people the Saturday before I got to cry with you in a room of 70,000 people the following Saturday. I am so so so proud of you!!!! Keep doing amazing things.
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