I had been excited about this concert for months. I’ve loved Lizzo’s music since “Good as Hell” debuted in the film “Barber Shop: The Next Cut” in 2016. The 9:30 Club was filled with an incredibly giddy and friendly crowd, who chanted Lizzo’s name until she appeared on stage singing the hit from her newest album, “I’m Crying Because I Love You.” I’d never been surrounded by such an upbeat, easy-going crowd. Her self-loving, positive presence reverberated the entire venue. Fans were crying at the first sight of her in a fringy hot pink jacket, black bodysuit turned green when light hit it, fishnet tights, bedazzled combat boots, and a gleaming smile. You can tell that she is genuinely so grateful for her fans, her dancers, and where her music has taken her, professionally, physically, and emotionally.

Between every few songs, Lizzo preached self-love and spoke openly about her difficult journey as a black woman from Detroit in the music industry. She also spoke openly about her experiences with depression, anxiety, therapy, and how she has recently learned how to allow herself to cry and embrace her emotions. Lizzo encouraged the crowd that crying is normal, crying is healthy, that crying feels good. She yelled to the crowd, “Your emotions are for WHO?” She pointed the mic to the crowd who responded, “ME!” She had the crowd repeat that mantra several times, reminding us that everyone gets emotional, and our emotions are no one’s business but our own.

Fans sported the t-shirt that says “100% That Bitch,” which references one of her top songs, “Truth Hurts.” After singing that song, Lizzo took another moment to speak to the crowd saying, “You know, I just took another DNA test, and turns out: I’m 100% capable of doing exactly what I want with my body, and choosing whether or not I want to have babies.” The crowd cheered in support of her negative opinions about the recent abortion bans. She said, “Hey – if you’re a white man here tonight, first of all, thank you for supporting a big black woman. Secondly, you all need to mobilize. I know white male allies exist here and there, but we need you all to come together and speak up for us.” Deafening cheers filled 9:30 Club, and my skin crawled with goosebumps.

I absolutely love how interactive Lizzo was with the crowd. A lot of times when musicians start to talk to the crowd, we roll our eyes waiting for the musician’s un-relatable saga to end. It wasn’t this, “It took me and my band sixteen hours to get here, you know how it goes, but here we are” story that the crowd’s listening to with blank expressions. Whenever Lizzo paused to talk to us, it felt like she was actually having a conversation with us, and she spoke about issues relevant to every identity within her diverse audience.

Lizzo’s two main dancers have been with her since the very beginning of her career. I respect that even if her dancers aren’t her best friends (which a couple of them are), she treats them all as such. She even brought out a birthday cake to one of the women supporting her on stage, and had the crowd sing happy birthday to her. Lizzo’s incredibly talented dancers looked like they were having so much fun on stage with her, shakin’ and twirkin’ in their booty shorts that read, “Don’t Touch” on the back. This is another message Lizzo addressed: unwanted attention towards women, and sexual harassment.

The opening act for Lizzo was Tayla Parx, who was described to me by another photographer I met that night as, “a prolific song writer.” Tayla was a co-writer for four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, such as “7 Rings” and “Thank U, Next” sung by Ariana Grande, “Love Lies” by DJ Khalid, and “High High Hopes” by Panic! at the Disco. She’s a brilliant singer-songwriter who, in my opinion, deserves way more recognition than she’s been given.

Have a listen to Lizzo on Spotify! You won’t regret it!