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Last Friday, pop star Madison Beer performed at popular New Haven music venue Toad’s Place. 

Beer has over 28 million followers on Instagram and is currently on her first tour after the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour, “The Life Support Tour,” will take place from  Oct. 18 to Nov. 28. Beer is scheduled to perform in multiple metropolitan cities, including New York and Houston. This concert marked Beer’s first time performing in New Haven and in Connecticut.

Beer opened her concert with “Baby,” a fast-paced song about attraction and seduction. She sang a total of 16 songs, including “Effortlessly” and “Dear Society.” Since the concert was held on the Friday of fall break, many Yale students had already left campus and were not in New Haven. However, those who attended were able to see Beer up close. 

One spectator, Bao Phan ’24, spoke to the unique experience of meeting Beer. 

“Meeting her in person definitely changed my perception of her; I didn’t really have expectations prior to meeting her,” Phan said. “A moment that stuck out to me during our interaction was when she asked if it was okay to give us a hug.”

Beer’s rise to fame started through YouTube, where she began posting singing videos at the age of 14. After being noticed by singer Justin Bieber, Beer was signed to Island Records and released her first single “Melodies” in 2013. She left Island Records in 2016 due to creative differences and began releasing music without a signed label. Since then, she has released multiple hits, including “Selfish” and “Reckless,” which have been played tens of millions of times on Spotify. 

At the New Haven stop on her tour, venue was packed with residents from the Elm City and neighboring communities, including students at New Haven University and Gateway Community College. Beer ended her setlist with “Everything Happens For a Reason,” a song about heartbreak and frustration from the betrayal and hurt resulting from a relationship. 

While some appreciated the venue’s intimate setting and small size, others were frustrated by the large crowd. According to Josh Nguyen ’23, the experience could have been improved with a more efficient and organized system in place for those coming to watch Beer perform. 

“The line stretched all the way from Toad’s to Payne Whitney, which was a whole lot more than I expected,” Nguyen said. “It took more than an hour to get into Toad’s. It also took about two hours to see Madison Beer once the concert officially started. There were two opening performances — each taking quite a bit of time. It was apparent that a lot of people were annoyed and wanted Madison to come out sooner.”

Despite these inconveniences, many students enjoyed the rare chance to see such a popular singer. 

“For students like myself who couldn’t go home to our families, it was a nice experience to have a small treat to ourselves and watch her perform right in front of our eyes,” Chris Santiago ’25 said.

Madison Beer is scheduled to perform in Charlotte, North Carolina on Oct. 30.