On October 25, Tate McRae brought her “Miss Possessive Tour” to Raleigh, her second appearance in the city, but her first time at the Lenovo Center. Expectations were high for McRae as this was her first arena tour, but she did not disappoint. 

Alessi Rose

For the opening performance, Alessi Rose, an indie pop-rock English singer, brought the energy to the stage and performed songs like “Stella” and ‘Dumb Girl,” which were songs off her new album Voyeur. I’m not the type to listen to the pop-rock genre, but I resonated with a few of her songs and definitely would add some to my playlist. She had a great voice and didn’t hesitate to sing out a couple of high notes. 

Tate McRae

Around ten minutes after Alessi Rose’s performance, the lights dimmed, the whole arena erupted in screams, and everyone stood. A video of McRae viewing the crowd in a camera room appears on the screen. Smoke and flashing lights take up the whole stage as her backup dancers start to move around. McRae suddenly appears from the upper stage as she starts performing “Miss Possessive.” She then performs other songs off her album So Close to What, like “2 Hands.” “Like I do” and “Dear God.”

For her next performance, McRae moved to a smaller stage and wore a long black dress. She revisited her roots, singing the songs she made when she was a teenager, like “You Broke Me First” and “One Day” in a ballad-like style while playing the piano. She transitioned through the crowd, giving her fans high fives.

She performed her next few songs, including my favorite “bloodonmyhands.” One of her backup dancers held a camera filming McRae and her other dancers taking turns dancing and laughing with each other, which was all projected onto the big screen above the stage. During that song and throughout Tate’s concert, I noticed that she doesn’t treat her backup dancers like her co-workers. She treats them like her friends, has fun with them, and messes around with them while on stage. She also gives them opportunities to show their talents. 

After “Revolving Door,” McRae’s dancers each had their own parts where they could dance by themselves, and I think that’s what makes a good performance work: the chemistry between the artist and their dancers. During “Just Keep Watching,” though, she did perform by herself, and her stage presence is unmatched. She has no problem strutting down the stage and doing a choreography on her own.

For her last two songs, she mixed “Sports Car” and “Greedy” together. Her concert ended with the dance break of “Greedy” and confetti falling everywhere, and I definitely grabbed a few pieces just as a keepsake. In all, McRae’s performance was outstanding and was fun to watch. She waved to the crowd and took a bow with her dancers. 

It’s one thing watching a singer perform on stage, walking around and hyping up the crowd, but the aspect of performing is another. I’ve always loved McRae’s dancing and her dance breaks, and that’s something that’s not really seen in the pop industry anymore. Her being able to show that to thousands of fans on tour each day shows that she can become the next major pop girl.

Any concert I go to will always be a ten out of ten for me, and McRae’s concert applies to that. The stages, the lights, the production, all tied to an amazing performance. Another thing was the band. There was a live band playing all the instrumentals of her songs, and I could listen to them all day. They did an amazing job, and I was stunned at the guitarist who had an outstanding solo part.

If I had the opportunity, I would definitely see Tate McRae again. It was such a great time, and it was fun to sing along to her songs. I’m glad she was able to come to Raleigh again and sing her songs with fans like me.