Before the show, Harry Styles lies in a small black box. Someone rolls him across the floor, pushing him under the stage as the muffled screams grow louder and louder. Then, a beam of light illuminates the stage’s center, and the man everyone has been waiting for rises up through the stage. On Oct. 1, Nashville hosted its second Harry Styles concert for thousands of fans. 

Upon arriving, Jackie Welden (12) noticed a distinct yet collective feeling within the audience members, the band and Styles alike. 

“I would describe it as safe,” Welden said. “ Everyone is just filled with love because Harry Styles preaches love and to treat people with kindness, and everyone does the same.”

The night was spent dancing, screaming and singing Fine Line and his self-titled album songs. Fans held signs and wore cowboy hats, but there were a few fans with costumes that attracted attention: a group of fans dressed up in banana costumes danced synchronously and started organized dances with other fans in the pit. 

“I remember seeing on the floor there were a bunch of people who got into a conga line during ‘Treat People with Kindness’ … they were just dancing around and having so much fun,” Sarah Cameron (10) said. 

Hundreds of other fans arrived in sparkly or pink outfits, some of which crowded around Styles’s stage in the pit. The stage sat in the center of the stadium, forming two sections that fans call the “Cherry Pit” and the “Watermelon Pit,” referencing two of his songs. 

“You could really see everything. It felt more personal,” Cameron said. “ It didn’t feel like he was singing at you; he was singing with you … It was more personal. I felt [like] you could see him looking around at people, talking to people.”

Styles has been known for his flamboyant and gender non-conforming fashion, with glittery and satin vests and suits each night of tour. For his second night in Nashville, however, a pearl satin set was his choice of clothing. 

“He’s been wearing the same thing basically every night for every show, but for the Nashville show, he changed it up a little bit, and it was really fun,” Cameron said. 

With half dressed in black and the other in red, Styles’s touring band charmed the audience with their accompaniment and interactive presence on stage. 

“They were really able to match his energy, especially Pauli [Lovejoy] and Niji [Adeleye], the percussionists,” Cameron said. “They were jumping around having a really fun time … Of course, there is Mitch [Rowland] the guitarist, and he and Harry were having a really good time. It was just phenomenal.”

Since it has been so long since they have seen Styles perform his music, let alone see him in-person, fans have noticed his growth as a person both on and off the stage.

“His last tour of his debut album, his songs weren’t as out there as this album,” Ella Rauls (11) said. “Just watching him through media and everything, I think he’s growing a whole lot — which sounds stupid, like I don’t know this man, but I think he’s [doing] an amazing job. I think he’s enjoying it.”

Styles’s passion and excitement to be back after a two year absence was shown to his Nashville audience through his inspiring words and energetic stage presence. The artist and his audience shared a moment that neither will forget. 

 “This was my first big concert ever … the whole time I was really just sitting there like ‘I can’t believe this is real,’ you know,” Cameron said. “He is so electric on stage; he has a great presence.”