Catch a Shooting Star… While You Can

Born to famous director J.J. Abrams, 23-year-old Singer/Songwriter, Gracie Abrams has been involved in the music industry since her life began, and is now gearing up to headline for Taylor Swift.

In 2020, Abrams released her first EP, Minor. Due to lockdown, and the inability to tour, Abrams performed a series of bedroom shows via Zoom, which gave her the ability to dip her toes into touring.  These bedroom shows were a way for her to not only grow her platform, but to give fans the opportunity to connect with the Abrams, despite the isolation. The following year, Abrams performed a small tour, giving her the opportunity to play at the iconic Roxy Theater in October 2021.

Shortly after the Minor Tour, Abrams released her second EP, This Is What It Feels Like, with support from writer and producer Aaron Dessner, most commonly known for his work with Taylor Swift. The release of This Is What It Feels Like marked a major point in Abrams’ career and led to her own headlining tour, along with opening for Olivia Rodrigo. After these two wildly successful tours, Abrams gained a larger following, while still remaining a relatively accessible artist. Just this past February, Abrams released her debut album, Good Riddance and, along with it, the announcement of another headlining tour beginning March 6th, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

I discovered Abrams in 2020, the day of her Minor release after Billie Eilish talked about it on her Instagram story. I was drawn to Abram’s brand of bedroom pop music and her bubbly personality, leading me to attend her first concert at El Rey Theatre.

During Abrams’ This Is What It Feels Like tour in early 2022, she played a total of twenty two shows in the United States, including two shows at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angles. Abrams offered two types of tickets: VIP soundcheck tickets, which included many perks such as early venue entry, and a personal soundcheck with the artist. The other, a general admission ticket, which is what I had for the first show. I arrived right when the doors opened, and I was able to get within the first 5 rows, which is very rare for most artists’ shows at the venue. With VIP Soundcheck tickets in hand for the second show, I was admitted early, with access to a front and center barricade spot. In both instances, the show was extremely intimate as Abrams still enjoyed the ability to interact with fans in a small venue, with either a general admission or VIP ticket.

The approaching release of Abrams’ debut album led to booked-up events, a CD singing in Long Beach, a photo booth at The Grove, an acoustic show at Amoeba records and, of course, her headlining tour. Like most fans, when I saw these announcements I jumped on them. Submitting my RSVP(s), buying tickets, and figuring out my schedule to accommodate all the upcoming events. As Abrams was still a relatively small artist, I had no concerns about queuing. I figured I could arrive at the Amoeba show at 9 am, tough it out for a few hours, and I’d be upfront. Compared to other shows I’d been to, where I’d be queuing up for days, a few hours was nothing.

Sunday, February 26th was the day of the CD signing in Long Beach. I arrived around 9:30 am for a 12 pm signing. I thought I arrived early enough to be one of the first 30 people, but I was mistaken. To my horror, there were far more than 30 people in front of me, and as the hours dragged on, the line wrapped around the block. The signing was extremely rushed, as I assume they oversold tickets due to the high demand from new fans.

The show at Amoeba was coming up, and after the huge lines I had been seeing, I knew that getting there at 8:00 am wasn’t going to cut it if I wanted to be in the front row. That night, my father and I went to Amoeba to scope it out. When I saw how tiny the stage was, I knew for certain that I needed to get there a lot earlier than anticipated. That sparked an idea. The next morning, we woke up early and went to Amoeba… a whole 31 hours early… and put out a chair with a sign that read “Gracie Abrams, I’ll be back very soon.” We knew this chair plan probably wouldn’t work, but we did it for laughs. 

The chair remained in place at Amoeba that day while we went on and lived our lives. The next morning (the day of the show),  my dedicated dad drove down to Hollywood Blvd and Argyle at 4:30 am to get in line for the 30-minute show. I woke up to a Facetime call from my dad at exactly that time and, to both of our surprise, the chair was still there, but had moved! Due to the fact that we couldn’t get someone to fill in the chair, we didn’t see the point of fighting to be the first in line. My dad was the eighth person in line and planned to switch out with me when I arrived, at 12:30 pm.

When I did arrive, I saw the massive line forming down Argyle and I was very grateful we made the decision to arrive before dawn. I traded places with my dad and waited till the doors opened, getting the exact spot I wanted. It took more time and effort than the previous shows of hers I’d attended, due to tons of new fans and higher demand for the show. Nevertheless, the show was beautifully performed and I enjoyed how intimate things felt, just like her past performances.

Later that night, I reflected on my day. To follow an artist from the beginning and watch them grow is something truly special. It’s more than being a fan, it’s being part of a community. As someone who’s now followed Abrams for a while, the lines I saw during one recent weekend astonished me. I was waking up extremely early every day, to take my place (or place a chair) in some long lines, but somehow I didn’t mind. It’s exciting to watch a fan base grow, and with a larger fan base, comes longer lines and earlier queuing. Abrams is about to open for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour and I know that this kind of exposure is only going to expand the fanbase. Abrams’s journey from small artist to headlining with Taylor Swift is a perfect example of what’s happened with other artists such as Phoebe Bridgers. Having an opportunity to witness it firsthand, it’ll be interesting to check in on Abrams after the Taylor Swift tour.