Harry Styles ended his residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden with a bang. The final night proved to be a historic one, as it marked a record-setting run of 15 sold-out shows at the historic venue.
Videos by American Songwriter
The celebrations spanned the entire evening beginning with a feather boa placed on every chair in the 20,000-plus capacity arena. His fans have long made the accessory a staple at his shows making the gesture from Styles’ team all the more special.
The climax of the night came as the Garden raised a banner to the rafters commemorating Styles’ achievement.
Gayle King presented Styles with his banner during the encore right after the 28-year-old sang “Sign of the Times.” King said, “Harry, we don’t want to say goodnight to you.” Styles began to get teary-eyed as the banner slowly lifted, taking its permanent place in the venue. Find fan-shot videos of the moment below.
As the crowd cheered the pop icon on, he took a tissue from a fan near the catwalk. He told the crowd, “Any time that you come to Madison Square Garden and you see that, remember it’s because of you. That is ours.“
He added, “I’m gonna come back when everyone is gone, and just sit and look at that for a while.”
Styles is now the third musician to have a banner hanging at the Garden. Billy Joel has two of them—one commemorating his 129 shows there and another for the 83 shows of his long-running monthly residency. Styles is also joined by Phish, who got their banner in 2017 after their 13-night stay where they didn’t repeat a single song for the entire run.
The banner ceremony was just one emotional aspect of the night. For “Matilda,” a ballad featured on Harry’s House, Styles brought out Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, who opened all 15 shows. “In my opinion, he is one of the most important musicians, artists, of our generation,” Styles said. Hynes played cello while Styles sang out the lyrics along with the roaring crowd.
Styles also brought out a deep cut from his debut album, “Ever Since New York.” The former One Direction member hasn’t played the track live in nearly four years. Elsewhere in the night, he got more lively than ever with some of his more anthemic tracks – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” “Treat People With Kindness” and “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Now that he has wrapped up the New York shows, Styles is off to complete more residencies in Austin, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Find tickets, HERE.
Photo credit: Lloyd Wakefield/Live Nation Concerts
