ARTS & CULTURE
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ARTS & CULTURE ☆
back to badlands: a bucket list concert
10/11/2025
Written by Liberty
I have been a die-hard Halsey fan since I was twelve years old. In the middle of class I wrote down a bucket list of what 12-year-old me would be desperate to do in the forthcoming years. At first, I wrote down the simple things: play hide and seek in Ikea, learn how to play the drums, try archery and become the next Katniss Everdeen. Then the best idea popped into my head: go to a Halsey concert. Over a small week I had listened to almost the entirety of her discography, and for years to come I would sit down and let her newest album play over and over in my ears, the volume so loud I’d be notified with warnings. I would create albums on my phone full of Halsey’s old and new looks, print out photos of her and stick them on my wall. Memorize every line in every song, every movement in every video. I’d seethe with jealousy when a new video was taken at her latest concert. I couldn’t travel to America, nor could I ever actually afford to watch her in the UK. It was depressing being a fan from afar.
22 blessed me with the opportunity of a lifetime. Lo and behold, Halsey is marketing a new tour for the ten-year anniversary of Badlands. Badlands was the album I first discovered from her through the song Colors. I was really into Teen Wolf at this time so the fact that she had Tyler Posey in the music video hit so much for me that it masked the fact that Halsey wanted his dad over him. Young God was my favourite song, I rinsed it because it also referenced Percy Jackson, another media I was desperately obsessed over.
The tickets cost £50 each, which I thought was the biggest steal ever. Good on Halsey to make sure her prices are affordable, unlike some artists in the world.
The concert was insanity. I brought my best friend Priya, who hadn’t really listened to Halsey before at all, and scoured through her album before the concert. We tried the pink and blue badlands wigs, but very unfortunately for me, the bob was not bobbing and ended up looking like Will Byer’s haircut. Pink isn’t my colour, so Priya rocked the wig all night. Funnily enough, we both settled on the same makeup. Are we twins or what…?
Halsey played every song I had hoped she would. If you’re a big fan of Badlands, well hold your shock because she played the hell out of the album! From Gasoline to Roman Holiday, Haunting and Young God; my all time fave. I discovered Tokyo Narita that day on the way to the concert and absolutely loved it – I was elated when she played it.
Not only is she an incredible performer, but the way she set her stage and the animations behind her made the show as great as it was. Even Priya was amazed. Badlands is one of those albums that have a clear theme and style, so it was fun seeing everyone dress so similarly, and the overflux of blue and pink wigs. The vibe was so runaway teen in a city she doesn’t belong to. That’s what good artists do: set a style.
Fun fact: I cried when she started performing. Now usually, I don’t do this, crying over things that I love, I mean. Like kind gifts and nice favours. But Halsey? Oh, I was tearing the hell up. I mean, that is THE Halsey, right there in front of me. Of course I cried. I barely got through Bells in Santa Fe.
There was also an excellent interactive element where every audience member was given 3D glasses, called ‘bad-lens’. We could see 3D frames of Halsey falling as the real Halsey did the same in real time. It was such a cool aspect, unique and we even got to keep the glasses as keepsakes! As a journaler, that was equivalent to scoring gold.
Overall, I was right to put it in my bucket list, because it was truly the most amazing experience I have ever had the privilege to go through. The energy was infectious, the songs were heartfelt and Halsey was hot.
