Washington, DC – The Anthem in DC was absolutely packed last week with fans, excited to finally see Louis Tomlinson’s World Tour in the District. Excitement was at a fever pitch, with parking completely filled hours before the show, lines wrapped around The Wharf waiting to enter the venue, and traffic slowed to a crawl for blocks around the show. The Anthem, professional and organized as always, had a large amount of attendees through the security line and into the venue before the opening act even took the stage.
The evening of Tomlinson’s DC concert was electric, with fans packing the venue. The barricades were shoulder-to-shoulder filled with concertgoers sporting signs, flags, and banners – very reminiscent of the One Direction days. The show kicked off with the Southern California band Sun Room, who worked the crowd and further hyped up the fans.
Tomlinson took the stage right on time, starting out strong with “We Made It,” continuing to keep the high level of excitement throughout the show. He played several of his singles including “Two of Us” and “Walls,” and made sure to include several songs from his 1D time, “Through the Dark” and “Drag Me Down.” Tomlinson’s stage design was simple, only including a backlit backdrop with a lighted version of his signature XX smile logo. He was accompanied by a classic 5 member band.
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Louis Tomlinson, an English pop-rock singer, found worldwide fame as a member of One Direction. Like the other former members of One Direction, Tomlinson has spent the last six years creating a solo career for himself. Since embarking on his solo career, he has also released singles with artists Bebe Rexha and Steve Aoki. Tomlinson, already an established songwriter, started by co-writing songs for One Direction early on and is credited with co-writing 37 of their released songs.
Tomlinson released his debut studio album Walls in January of 2020 through Syco Music and Artista Records. The album spawned the release of 5 singles: “Two of Us,” “Kill My Mind,” “We Made It,” Don’t Let It Break Your Heart,” and “Walls.” His first solo world tour was scheduled to kick off in March of 2020, however spent the next year and a half being delayed and rescheduled. After many months of patiently waiting, Tomlinson’s North America Tour 2022 resumed in January 2022, kicking off in Dallas, TX.
While One Direction is currently on a permanent hiatus, the five band members, including Tomlinson, rocketed to stardom in 2010 while competing on the British show, The X Factor. The boys initially auditioned individually, and were placed into a group during the competition. Although they finished in 3rd place at the end of the show, they were quickly offered a record deal through Simon Cowell’s Syco Records. The band went on to complete four world tours, two of which were all stadium tours. By 2020, One Direction had sold 70 million records worldwide, earning them the distinction of being one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
The Anthem is a local music venue in The Wharf, located in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, DC. It opened its doors on October 12th, 2017 with a headlining performance by the Foo Fighters. The Anthem is operated by I.M.P., the same concert promotion and production company that owns the historic 9:30 Club also in DC. The Anthem is located in The Wharf, a newer development stretching along the Potomac River that features restaurants, stores, businesses, and residences.
