Review: Gracie Abrams Ends U.S. Tour on a High Note

White flowy skirts, butter yellow shirts and silk hair ribbons flooded Red Rocks Amphitheatre on August 12 for Gracie Abrams's last stop on the United States leg of her The Secret of Us tour. This was the second show of a two-night run at the venue, and the singer thanked the crowd profusely for showing up and allowing her to play "the most iconic venue."

The tour celebrates her 2024 album, The Secret of Us, which includes such hits as "Risk," "I Love You, I'm Sorry," and of course, her collab with Taylor Swift, "Us." Colorado fans last saw Abrams in 2023 when she opened up for Swift on the Eras tour. She's come a long way since then.

The show was supposed to open up with ROLE MODEL, who couldn't make it due to filming a movie, and fans (me) were definitely disappointed. We've all been watching videos of the "Sally, When The Wine Runs Out" performances hoping for the chance to scream the iconic bridge in person. Luckily, Griff, who has now opened for major artists like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Sabrina Carpenter, decided to play the song during her opening set to make it up to fans.


But even without that, Griff's set was the perfect opening to the show. The singer's energy, stellar vocal chops and stage presence got fans out of their seats and singing along. Griff is to Gracie as Gracie is to Taylor, and she gave us a sneak peek at who will hopefully be headlining Red Rocks in the next couple of years.

When Abrams walked out playing the guitar for "Risk," the first song of the night, fans roared for the singer. You could immediately feel the same energy brought by concerts from Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and now Gracie Abrams — fans who've been relating to lyrics for years finally got to sing them with the person that wrote them.

Abrams immediately proved her live vocal chops with "Risk" and "I Love You, I'm Sorry." Some videos have circulated in the past of the singer having a rough time on the higher notes of the latter, but Abrams put any speculation to rest that she can't perfectly hit those. Her vocals were polished and strong, staying in key even on the more difficult songs.

But a good singer doesn't just mean the ability to belt. At one point towards the beginning of the show, Abrams walked to the piano and began to play the song "Death Wish," a tune she only has released as a live version, but is a fan-favorite. The piano ballot is emotional and gut wrenching, as it details the struggles of loving a narcissist, and Abrams's soft, whispery voice silenced the crowd.

After a few more songs to bring up the mood, Abrams took a moment to pull out a notebook she'd been writing in and share some thoughts with the crowd.

"As I think back over these last few years, I find myself reflecting on all that we've all been through in our personal lives, in this country and around the world. It's really overwhelming ultimately to attempt to absorb all that has happened since the pandemic began," Abrams said before raising the question of what makes fans continue to gather and show up to shows.

"I think it's the deep need to be in community," she said. "The actual joy of gathering and singing like our lives depend on it, dressing up, dancing, getting to know each other, making new true friends in these environments, it's been like actual medicine. I would never suggest that gathering alone is enough to beat back all that we're facing, but it is a part of what will keep us connected and affirmed when so many other environments and elected officials are doing their very best to make us cynical and afraid. When we are together, we are reminded that each of us is worthy of light and love and joy and that our inherent dignity is not negotiable, no matter where we come from, who we love, the color of our skin or who we might worship."


Abrams continued that energy throughout the night, at one point grabbing a Pride flag from a fan and draping it over the piano. After a stunning duet with Griff for "I know it won't work," Abrams stepped into the middle of the Red Rocks crowd, causing fans to run from their seats and crowd around the singer to get as close as possible. Abrams created an intimate moment with fans, allowing some to be just a few feet away as she sang and played guitar.

The singer performed her duet "Us," (no, Taylor Swift did not make an appearance despite rumors that she would) before running off and coming back for an encore, ultimately ending the show with "Close To You," a song fans begged Abrams to release after it circulated on social media. Even though Swift didn't surprise fans, another celebrity sighting did happen at the show. Abrams boyfriend Paul Mescal showed up for both nights at Red Rocks, singing along to the songs in the crowd with fans.

Although the tour is over in the United States, don't sweat if you didn't get tickets. Cameras were everywhere throughout the evening, capturing the whole show for Apple for fans to relive the show, or experience it for the first time, later on.