As the countdown to Conan Gray bringing his Wishbone Tour to Charlotte begins, let’s do a deep dive into all aspects of his shows. Gray is taking this tour to 13 states, North Carolina being the 8th. Fans have loved each show so far, from the comfortable atmosphere to the deep, relatable lyrics of Gray’s songs. While this tour was started following the release of Gray’s fourth album, Wishbone, it still incorporates many of his songs from previous albums. The concert brings a vast range of personalities, groups, and outfits all brought together by a similar love for Gray’s music.

Many see concerts as a place to get dressed up and fit the theme of the artist, but a big part of Gray’s fan base have chosen to wear their pajamas to the show. While pajamas are uncommon, they match Gray’s outfit during his song “Vodka Cranberry” , a special blue and white striped pajama set. Each outfit worn on stage is unique, but perfectly fit to the vibe of Gray and his music. Gray’s album, Wishbone, has a sailor theme, with Gray dressing as a sailor and keeping the theme throughout each photo related to the album, and the performances on tour. One outfit Gray wears on tour is a dark blue, gem colored sailor uniform. While not identical to the usual uniform as it has been altered and improved for a performance, the outfit still correlates with a general sailor theme. Relating to the sailor theme, but being more similar to a lost at sea vibe, Gray wears a loose fitting white top with loose pants and a sash across his chest. The outfit gives an airy, “lost at sea” vibe, perfect for the theme and atmosphere of his songs. For more of a basic look, Gray is dressed in navy pants and a white tank, still in the same color scheme but a more simple outfit. Throughout each song, Gray is wearing a sailor hat, one being white with a large red stripe and the other being a sparkly blue cap with an anchor and gray cords. Although the outfits vary between extremely unique and detailed to more basic and less detailed, each one is perfectly fit to his performances.

With such unique, extravagant outfits, Gray has a thoughtful setlist to perform as well. The show is broken into four acts and an encore to close. In total, Gray performs 20 songs with ten from his newest album. Of the other ten, four are from his album “Superache”, four from his album “Kid Krow”, and the remaining two are from his album “Found Heaven”. While his newest album has twelve tracks, Gray does not perform his songs “Sunset Tower” and until his recent show in Bridgeport, he had not performed his song “Care”. The first act is called “A Wishbone Never Breaks Even” and contains four songs. The second act is slightly longer with five songs, and is called “I Got the Short End of the Stick”. Throughout this act, Gray is wearing his iconic pair of pajamas on a pajama-party themed stage surrounded by a bed and cloud props. The act is named after the reference to someone who receives the shorter end of a wishbone stick and the bad luck that would therefore follow. The third and longest act containing six songs is called “I Took the Long Way to Realization” that has a nautical-themed skit. A special part of the act is when Gray breaks a wishbone with a fan, never even and not always guaranteeing him the larger piece but still a part of the show that the fans have grown to love. Whoever gets the larger part of the wishbone gets to choose between two songs on the screen that Gray will then perform the chosen one as a surprise song. The fourth and final act, “I Wished for Love and I Found It” is the shortest with only three songs. The entirety of the act is themed around love after heartache. Gray performs in a celebratory manner and makes sure to introduce his band, a small but personal detail. To close the show, Gray performs his two song encore in a captain’s uniform as to portray that he has become the “captain of his life”. The combination of albums and song tones leaves fans switching between tears and smiles but always screaming their favorite lyrics.

In each show, Gray performs at the highest level and never disappoints. Despite being a smaller artist, he still has a loyal and supportive fan base at each show, screaming the lyrics to their favorite songs.