I didn’t go to the Lady Gaga show at Hershey Park a fan, necessarily, but I left a Lady Gaga stan.
“I see a lot of people who know exactly who they are. And for those that don’t, you’ll figure it out,” she said from a stage in the midst of the lucky-as-hell crowd of 30,000 Sunday night, many of whom her music empowered to be who they are.
It was a rare opportunity for fans outside of a big market to see Lady Gaga live. Her “Chromatica Ball” tour has been playing major markets in the U.S. and is now on its way to Europe, but a scheduling quirk brought the icon to Hershey.
The show was a lovefest, and a stylistic wonder – with Gaga and her dance troupe going through several thematic costume changes for performances of her high-energy pop hits, interrupted only by a subdued acoustic set with the chanteuse at the piano for her hits “Shallow,” “Always Remember Us This Way,” “The Edge of Glory” and “Angel Down” that had fans in tears trying to sing along.
It was a festive post-COVID night – “We’ve had a crazy few years, haven’t we?” she asked, after her rendition of “Shallow,” the Academy Award-winning song from “A Star Is Born.” “This was a very hard, painful, scary time. But I think we also saw a lot of bravery. I hope things don’t have to be bad for us to see kindness.”
The concert was also easily the biggest Pride event I’ve ever been to.
Gaga, whose breakthrough hits include the gay anthem “Born This Way,” has used her platform to press for LGBTQ+ civil rights, leading efforts to protest the U.S. military “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the Trump administration’s attempt to change the legal definition of gender to exclude transgender Americans, among the many, many other things she’s done.
She dedicated her performance of “Born This Way” to the LGBTQ+ population of Pennyslvania, and paused at one point in the song to emphasize one lyric.
“Did you hear what I said? You were made perfect.”
Gaga did make it a point to engage fans in the politics of the moment on a couple of occasions, noting the location of the concert, Pennsylvania, and its important role in the 2020 election outcome.
“One thing I appreciate about this state is you don’t always agree,” she said. “And that’s OK. The world doesn’t f—ing agree. But I know you all love people.”
Before “Angel Down,” she addressed the renewed debate over abortion rights.
“This is for everyone who has to worry about their body,” Gaga said. “I know you came to the concert to have fun. But some people will die during childbirth, and some people will get raped, and they can’t help those kids.”
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Chris Graham
