By: Alana Saucier
Reigning pop artist Harry Styles made history on September 21, 2022, as he sold out 15 consecutive nights at the legendary venue, Madison Square Garden. On the 15th night of his very own residency, he was presented with a banner to display his success, which will reside in the Garden permanently.
He is one of three artists to receive a banner, as his name now hangs next to Billy Joel and Phish. In the midst of his 15-night residency, Joel played MSG and acknowledged Harry’s accomplishments by saying: “I just want to thank Harry Styles for taking the night off.”
After completing his European leg for the year-long and still running “Love on Tour,” Harry made his way back to New York in less than a year. He decided to continue his never-ending tour to present his new album, “Harry’s House,” by doing residency shows in Toronto, New York, Austin, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Harry made his last show in New York special by singing “Ever Since New York” from his first solo album back in 2017, which was not on the original setlist.
The MSG staff and team say that they have never quite seen anything like this before and that Harry Styles fans are simply different than others. The energy and dedication that the fans bring to Madison Square Garden is a significant factor in the success of the residency. It’s no secret that Harry has his very own unique, flashy style, consisting of sequins, bright colors and patterns, and of course, feather boas. Because of this, it’s an unspoken rule that when attending Love on Tour, wear your most Harry-like outfit. The streets outside of the Garden were coated in feathers for weeks during and after the residency.
Over the course of the 15 nights, fans were camped outside of the Garden in tents and blankets for nights in hopes of getting as close as they could to Harry during the show. MSG holds about 20,000 people a night, and all 15 nights were completely sold out. The Garden was bursting with passionate Harry Styles fans, but a few recognizable people also made an appearance. Madonna, Hailey Bieber, Nina Dobrev, Drew Barrymore, Joe Jonas, Jon Bon Jovi, and many more familiar faces were spotted singing along with the fans.
This dedication and passion that is displayed not just throughout the residency but also throughout the past decade from the fans (or “Harries”) are what makes each one of his shows so special. Each show would carry the hope that Harry would play his unreleased song “Medicine,” which was only sung on occasion. Chanting and anticipating the return of the unreleased masterpiece was one of the many things that united the fans at shows. Of course, there has always been a large community of Harry Styles fans across the globe, but this residency gave fans a chance to exist in a community right within New York. Most fans attended multiple shows and would meet friends and recognize people that they met at previous shows.
Going to Madison Square Garden became a weekly routine for New York fans in the month of September, which allowed for Madison Square Garden to be not only home to Harry Styles, but his fans as well.
