Photo + Words: Kate Warby
As soon as Swims entered the stage it is clear to the masses that he doesn’t take a second of this lifestyle for granted in a way that others so easily do. Being in a state of constant gratitude towards every single person who makes this a possibility for him, inclusive of; his band and backing singers who he consistently refers to as his “best friends” both his own backstage crew alongside the people who work alongside TK Maxx and Powderham Castle to make these family events a possibility. Singers being so outwardly grateful seems to play a larger role in their image as social media plays a bigger and bigger role in their careers and fans want more and more of an insight into their private lives, however Teddy expresses a genuine care for all members and backgrounds of the community he’s created residing people that it is pride month as well as too look after themselves as well as each other in the heat.
His recent success is blazingly obvious from the seemingly never ending crowds singing back at him, as his level of showmanship through the first two songs of his set hypnotize them into the narrative that he carries throughout all of his performance’s. While he started his set with high energy almost showing off the idyllic side of his experiences in the industry, he began to slow the set for his third song “Are You Even Real” where he hid away into a corner of his structure on stage. As they take a moment to take in the prison-like setting which contains his band on stage, and see their idol hidden alongside a washing machine allowing him to rapidly be dragged back to the same humane level as themselves and experiences difficulties that he often expresses within his music.
As we started approaching the middle of the set there was a moment where fans seemed to be approaching the scattered food vendors throughout the arena however as the first note of fan favorite “Bad Dreams” began a herd of people made a comeback to the Main Stage in order to not miss this symphonic duration of his performance. Where they were not left unimpressed by not only Teddy’s vocals but everyone’s talent on stage collaborating into a masterpiece.
As a slower more reflective theme begins to take centre stage they feature lots of duets between Teddy and his “best friends” creating a harmonious, acapella style introduction to his own music, creating an individual experience at each show he puts on. Through this showing the personal shoulders that he has leant on over the whirlwind that he has had these past few years and thanking “the thousands of shoulders he has had to lean on” in the form of his audience. You can feel the impact and power that standing alongside these people gives as he speaks out about the male suicide crisis that is currently taking place in America, and how he has been personally effected by this on multiple occasions. Which previously led him to have made a song now almost a decade ago when he lost someone close to him which has now, unfortunately, regained relevance. He begs his audience to check in on each other and their loved ones and “wrap them up close, but not too close. It might be sticky” as their stage plummeted into darkness as the introduction for “Some Things I’ll Never Know” takes over, translating into a sense of abyss and loneliness that was felt in the aftermath.
In order to cheer up the teary eyes fans that remained watching him, he announced that that next song was an unreleased song, hinting too seeing him in 2027 with a new alum featuring this sneak peek of “Breakup In Reverse” as fans watched on admirably they enjoyed the moment of having just Teddy being heard throughout the crowd of thousands. After this he kicked off the beginning of the end with some frequently occurring covers within his recent setlist including “Jump” and, “Somethin’ About a Woman” This built up an energized crowd for his final songs “Guilty” and “Lose Control” which could be heard by fans who left early in attempt to avoid the crowds on the walk to the station, whilst locals had enjoyed the final songs from beyond the gates of the festival, envious of those with a clear view of Teddy Swims.
Taped Magazine 