Luke Hemmings - Nostalgia For A Time That Never Existed
by Claire Johnson | June 12th , 2024
All images are from Luke Hemmings - Nostalgia For A Time That Never Existed Tour in Washington, D.C. on 5/27/24.
Luke Hemmings just finished the North American leg of his tour, Nostalgia For A Time That Never Existed. On social media, the #NostalgiaFor(InsertCity) has been used to track photos and posts associated with the tour. He is wrapping up the world tour by performing in four different cities across his home country of Australia.
Hemmings is most known for being the lead singer of the band, 5 Seconds of Summer, however, he has released two records since branching out as a solo artist: When Facing The Things We Turn Away From, released in August 2021, and his latest EP, boy, released this past April, which he is currently promoting on tour.
While on his extremely sought after tour, Luke played two sold out shows at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on May 26 and 27, 2024. The 9:30 Club originally opened in 1980 and moved to its current location in 1996 for which it has been the home to many great performances over the years.
#NostalgiaForDCNight1 consisted of some audience members that arrived days before the show in order to get a good view, since the venue is standing room only. Camping was not encouraged by the venue, but excited fans did not let that stop them from finding alternative methods like sleeping in their cars. Fans showed up as early as 7:30 in the morning the day of the show to start lining up and patiently waited all day in the hot sun to see their favorite artist. This level of commitment shows just how dedicated and passionate Luke Hemmings fans are of his music. Throughout the day, people continued to arrive, dressed in blue, covered in glitter, and adorned with blue eyeshadow.
Around 4:30 in the afternoon, venue staff began to sort through the line, which had wrapped around the entire building, for concertgoers who had purchased VIP tickets and those who purchased general admission tickets. VIP ticket holders received early access into the venue, as well as a special VIP laminate and tour poster signed by Luke himself.
After hours of anticipation, it was time for the venue to open its doors to its patrons. People raced to the front of the stage to claim their spot as the venue filled at a rapid pace as avid guests filed in. Only waiting one short hour in the venue, compared to the fans who arrived in the early morning, guests were rewarded with a great performance by the opening band, Cafune. The lead singer, Sedona Schat, delighted the crowd with her smooth vocals. Cafune ended their set and left the audience all warmed up for Luke.
No one could prepare for what was next when the lights began to dim and the opening notes of A Beautiful Dream and fog started to fill the venue. Screams and cheers grew louder as Luke made his way out of the shadows to center stage and sang the first line. As the first song came to an end, the beginning of Motion immediately started, followed by a giant cannon going off as the tempo increased, showering the audience in white confetti and blue streamers. The crowd went wild as the energy grew even more, if possible, and people clapped for Luke’s ongoing performance. The whole night, the energy never seemed to die down, even when he played his slower songs like Bloodline, Comedown and my personal favorite, Place in Me. About halfway through his set, Luke took a quick break from singing and interacted with the audience. As the crowd listened intently, hanging onto every single word not to miss a moment, Luke began telling everyone about how the tour was going and his excitement for being able to play the 9:30 Club for the first time. He then picked back up with the first song he wrote for his debut album, Mum.
The night carried on with the audience enthralled at every single thing Luke did. It was a sight to witness the connection between artist and fan and how the energy never wavered when there was a beat in the performance.
#NostalgiaForDCNight2 audience had just as much enthusiasm as night one, much to Luke’s surprise when he mentioned his fear that night two would not be as energetic. During one of Luke’s talking breaks, fans started barking at him. He even noticed someone in the audience “barking” in sign language and was intrigued with the notion. This was not the first time the audience barked at Luke as it happened the night before, but encouraged the audience to bark more night two, despite saying he did not know how he felt about it the first night.
After the funny interaction, he continued his set as usual. While night two left fans bereft of Diamonds and Bloodline, they got a special treat when Slip Away made its debut on the setlist for the North American run of the tour. Luke had not played it live since his show at the Troxy in London. Unplanned, Slip Away was a massive surprise to the audience as a fan favorite, knowing it was not on the original setlist for the night. Luke ended both Washington DC shows with the title track of his newest EP, I’m Still Your Boy, and the lead single off his debut album, Starting Line, leaving fans fully satiated and filled with memories from the two unforgettable evenings.
https://www.lukehemmingsofficial.com/
