There are myriad methods to chase away the post-election blues, but dancing and singing at the top of your lungs along with Billie Eilish and 20,000 adoring fans at Bridgestone Arena on a stormy Wednesday night might take the cake. With Nashville being only stop number 11 on Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, fans would typically expect the energy to be off the charts so early in the run. But there were thick gray clouds hovering over the show, both figuratively and literally. As showgoers poured in by the droves, damp from the rain, there was a tangible tension threaded through each of us in the wake of the AP announcing Donald Trump as the 2024 U.S. president-elect early in the day.
In case the openly queer, 22-year-old’s progressive lyrics and consistent advocacy for women’s rights didn’t tip you off to her political leanings, Eilish made her stance crystal clear days earlier when she paused a show and urged her fans to vote for Kamala Harris. She even reshared a viral TikTok that fossilized this moment to her own social media accounts to ensure that all of her followers were privy to her beliefs. So on Wednesday night, in the post-election haze, we fans trod through the waxy linoleum of Bridgestone’s concourse with a heaviness so particular and surreal, but intermingled with a complex enthusiasm to escape the meandering doom of the morning’s news. And escape we did.
The first act of escapism: Opener Towa Bird pounced through the audience standing in the pit and leaped onto the stage with majestic grace. She ignited the sold-out crowd by shouting, “Good evening, bisexuals!” Bird’s sequined blazer and licorice-colored guitar seemed to drink in the spotlight as she strutted across the catwalk stage with a swagger reminiscent of Prince and Joan Jett coalescing into one ultra-curly-haired lesbian. Her contagious energy sliced through the collective buzzing of the arena, and in an instant we were transported to the familiar graceland of rock ’n’ roll as she performed bangers from her debut album American Hero. One of the highlights of her set was a bouncy and flirty cover of Gwen Stefani’s indelible anthem “Hollerback Girl.” Bird encouraged us to stomp our feet along to the catchy beat and the movement served to release the residual stress we’d all been carrying around.
By the time the headliner took the stage, all of our anxieties had been temporarily vanquished. The synthy opening notes of “Chihiro” pulsed through our veins as Eilish descended from a suspended platform, her voice coming over the P.A. fluid and angelic. For several songs, we danced and vibed along as she moved through familiar tunes from her latest album Hit Me Hard and Soft. The audience was electrified and captivated by her astonishing vocal control as she danced from corner to corner of the massive stage, stopping to make sure each and every fan got a chance to feel her presence.
The kaleidoscope of emotions intensified midway through her set when Eilish soberly confessed that she woke up that morning unsure of how she would go on with the show considering how dismal she felt in the wake of the election. But she reminded herself, and us in turn, that the ability to make and share art is a privilege, and she was not going to waste an opportunity to come together with her community of fans, celebrate love and encourage us all to keep resisting fascism. She followed her brave credo with a heartfelt acoustic cover of The Beatles’ timeless “Yesterday,” and by the end of the song, there wasn’t a single dry eye in the house. Swapping her acoustic guitar for an electric after tenderly hugging each member of her band, Eilish begged: “Excuse us for crying. It’s been a tough day.”
What seemed like an infinite supply of confetti spilled from the rafters during the show’s closing number, “Birds of a Feather,” and it became abundantly clear that the ultimate goal of this escape was catharsis. On the walk back to our cars, my friend Abby Johnson touched the sides of her eyes and admitted, “I didn’t realize how much raw emotion I needed to release from my gut.”
So to Billie, we say thank you — for providing a safe space for the girls, the gays and the theys to be ourselves and move through uncomfortable emotions as we watch our rights being legislated away. Thank you for making music in which we see ourselves reflected in. And thank you for being a bird of the same feather and encouraging each and every one of us to stick together. Nashville loves you.
