Kansas City, MO — One thing is for sure: Niall Horan does not need One Direction to put on a good show, as his solo tour has proven thus far.
But before I even get to him, let me tell you about the venue. The Starlight Theatre in Kansas City is exactly that: an open theatre beneath the stars, and it dazzled. I would compare the Starlight Theatre to a Missouri version of the renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The location is beautiful and was packed from the first row to the last row.
The phones in the audience mirrored the stars in the sky as they shined upon Niall Horan during most of his set.
Opening for Horan was country music artist Maren Morris. A newbie in the country scene, Morris has blown up thanks to her hit songs ‘I Could Use a Love Song,’ ‘My Church,’ and her feature in Zedd’s ‘The Middle.’ The sun was still shining as she performed her set and chatted with the crowd.
During her set, she talked about how much her life has changed in the past year and how exciting it is for her that her idols will tweet back at her now.
After a brief intermission and several moments where the crowd seemed to think Horan was entering the stage, he finally stepped foot in front of a very eager group of fans, where all chaos ensued. My ears are still ringing from the shrieks of younger and older girls.
The crowd crooned along with Horan on every single song and he mentioned that he thought the Kansas City fans were the best group of singers of any crowd he’s heard.
The fans absolutely adored Horan, every one of them zooming and snapping pictures constantly. But when he asked the fans to put their phones away and live in the moment for one song, the crowd obliged and not a single cell phone was raised in the air for that brief period of time.
The thing I will remember most about Niall Horan is that he did not need to over-perform to capture the crowd or to show his talent. His voice was so pure that even when he was just talking, in his thick Irish accent, it was soothing. He didn’t have fancy choreography, he simply sang and engaged with his fans. His voice and his personality took center stage.
By the end of the night, Horan had the crowd going in one direction…directly into the palm of his hand.
