Billie Eilish’s return to Kansas City was ‘everything I could have hoped for,’ fans say
Kansas City can get loud and make the floor shake. Just ask the fans who packed T-Mobile Center for Billie Eilish’s concert.
The 22-year-old superstar singer and songwriter made her first appearance in Kansas City since 2019 as a part of her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour. The show on Saturday, Nov. 16, continues a string of sold-out events at the venue in November, as rock band Creed and country singer Jelly Roll both had full capacity during their stops.
Eilish played for 1 hour, 40 minutes, taking fans on a journey through her three studio albums and Soundcloud singles. The flashing lights, moving screens and distorted visuals all added to the singer’s performance, where her hard and soft singing skills were on full display.
“I’ve missed you, and I’m very happy to be back in your city,” Eilish told fans during the show.
Hundreds of fans who bought tickets for the pit section lined up outside the venue’s doors hours in advance and secured merch from the truck outside. Some even camped out across the street the day before to get as close to the barrier as possible.
This was the case for friends Lily Berger, Lila Newsom and her sister, Clara Newsom. They all previously met in the pit section of an Eilish concert in 2022 and became fast friends, staying in touch and planning their trip to Kansas City for the show.
For this tour, they picked Kansas City because it was the closest between Berger’s hometown of St. Louis and the Newsom family, who hail from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The plans they settled on had them to camping outside in the cold the night of Friday, Nov. 15 so they could be as close to the artist that means so much to them as possible.
“She saved my life,” Berger said. “I genuinely don’t know where I’d be without her music today.”
Their experience in the pit brought them new friends and shaking hands with Eilish herself as she went around the barrier during “BLUE,” which Lila Newsom said was one of her goals.
‘It was so healing to scream the lyrics’
As Eilish sat, pranced, jumped and belted out some of her biggest hits and timely songs from her discography, such as “TV,” “Your Power,” and “Happier Than Ever,” fans joined in with her. It seemed like not one person sat down from the moment the arena lights turned off at 8:40 p.m. until Eilish asked them to sit. Over 17,000 fans who traveled everywhere from Dallas to Maui for her show sang every word at the top of their lungs.
Hearing “TV” live was healing to Savannah Schulze, who traveled from Fort Collins, Colorado, for the show. She was here with longtime friend Kennady Spurrier, who goes to school at Oklahoma State but met Schulze in Manhattan, Kansas, where her parents live.
The friends have traveled to multiple concerts together over the years and cherish every penny saved to spend these moments together. The intimate setting Eilish was able to create inside a packed venue made hearing these songs even powerful, Schulze said.
“Hearing ‘TV’ live was everything I could have hoped for,” Schulze said. “It’s really gotten me through dark times recently, and it was so healing to scream the lyrics.”
Emotions were on full display from the fans and from Eilish throughout the show. After Eilish finished performing “Therefore I Am,” she stood in silence and with tears welling up in her eyes as the crowd chanted her name and cheered for more than 2 minutes straight.
“Honestly, I really needed that,” Eilish said. “Thank you for the love.”
The quietness during the opening of “when the party’s over” also brought Spurrier to tears. Eilish had asked everyone to stay quiet as she recorded her vocals live that she then looped to create the base she sang over. Once she finished her part, the crowd immediately began to sing as she laid on the stage in the center of the venue.
Later in the show, she told the majority-women crowd that they were safe in this room and that they are taken care of, following recent election results.
During her performance of “TV” Eilish stopped for a moment after singing the lyric: “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial/ While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade,” something she has added to the performance since her Wednesday, Nov. 6 show in Nashville.
“I will always fight for you and stand up for you,” Eilish said. “I will always have your back and I hope you’ll always have mine. I love you.”
‘I’m the Dad Guy... duh’
Eilish’s demographic skews toward young women, but that hasn’t stopped people of all backgrounds from appreciating her talents. Even the dads.
Take 65-year-old Edward Dallas from Smithville for example, who said Eilish has one of the greatest voices he’s ever heard. The show marked his second time seeing Eilish perform, as he previously took his youngest daughter, Meghan, to her show in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2022.
His oldest daughter, Stephanie, got upset that she wasn’t picked, and he said the next time Eilish was in the area, he’d buy tickets for everyone. He just wasn’t expecting Meghan to buy a ticket with a seat after he’d bought pit tickets.
His granddaughter Riley joined him on the floor, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment from his youngest choosing to have a seat instead of standing all day.
“My youngest is a sissy,” Dallas said.
The dad vibes were even stronger with California native Justin Cleland, who now lives in Oklahoma. The 43-year-old was in attendance with his wife Katrice and daughter Blylie, and said his daughter is the biggest Billie Eilish fan in the world.
He was spotted wearing a custom-made shirt that reads “I’m the Dad Guy... duh,” a play on the lyrics from Eilish’s song “bad guy.” He said Blylie made him make that after she saw other dads wearing a similar shirt at other shows on social media.
Cleland it means the world to him to be able to take his daughter to the show for her birthday. Seeing his daughter be able to grow up with Eilish as a positive influence has been amazing, he said. His daughter has also influenced him to not play some of his favorite rock bands, like Korn or Disturbed, when they’re driving around and to play Eilish’s music instead.
“I didn’t by no means grow up rich or anything, I mean I had what I needed but I didn’t have anything beyond that,” Cleland said. “To be able to give her something like this, even if it was an arm and a leg to get the tickets, is pretty special and for me and my wife to be here to support her.”
Blylie’s reaction to the show? Priceless, according to Cleland. He’s also looking into making the shirt he had for other dads who are going to future Eilish shows.
What songs did Billie Eilish play in KC?
Billie Eilish played 24 songs during her show in Kansas City, including:
- “CHIHIRO”
- “LUNCH”
- “NDA”
- “Therefore I Am”
- “WILDFLOWER”
- “when the party’s over”
- “THE DINER”
- “bad guy”
- “ilomilo”
- “THE GREATEST”
- “Your Power”
- “SKINNY”
- “TV”
- “Oxytocin”
- “Guess featuring billie eilish” (Charli XCX song)
- “everything i wanted”
- “BLUE” (performed by backup singers)
- “lovely”
- “idontwannabeyouanymore”
- “Ocean Eyes”
- “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”
- “What Was I Made For?”
- “Happier Than Ever”
- “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
This story was originally published November 17, 2024 at 3:17 AM.
