I Got Hypothermia for Harry Styles
How to get into a secret session you don’t have tickets to.
Harry Styles spent the past week promoting his latest album Fine Line with an abundance of interviews and performances in New York City. In early February, he announced that he would be putting on secret shows for SiriusXM and Pandora on Friday, Feb. 28, and iHeartRadio on Saturday, Feb. 29. At these small events, fans would get a glimpse of his upcoming “Love on Tour,” which kicks off in April.
Of course, these performances are known for their exclusivity. SiriusXM had subscribers call in twice a day for two weeks for a chance to win tickets, and also sent out a selective lottery via email. Similarly, iHeartRadio had an online lottery as well as call-ins three times a day on local station Z100.
A deep dive into stan Twitter and thousands of phone calls later, I can finally say that I managed to get into a Harry Styles Secret Session. And I didn’t even win tickets.
It may have taken a toll on my health and maybe even my sanity, but on Saturday, after 14 days of hearing a busy tone, annoying my roommates to use their phones and having an inbox devoid of anything Styles-related, a miracle — in the form of a Bowery Ballroom worker who took pity on the group of fans shivering outside the venue — happened.
On Friday, my newfound skills as a Twitter detective came in handy. After endlessly searching various keywords related to Harry Styles, SiriusXM, and the secret session, I came across a photo of event badges that clearly read: “Music Hall of Williamsburg.” Naturally, I got on the subway and ran the rest of the way there. Sadly, after waiting in a 100-person long line, we were told to leave as soon as the show started because it was at capacity.
However, because I apparently don’t learn from my failures, the next day I found myself playing detective on Twitter again for the iHeartRadio Secret Session. At 12 p.m., I found a single tweet saying “Bowery Ballroom,” a 575-capacity venue just north of Little Italy, so I grabbed my friend and joined the 50-person standby line as soon as we arrived.
With little more than a half-eaten muffin and my definitely not weather-appropriate coat in tow, we sat down in a line that slowly thinned out over the next few hours. After multiple workers told us that we weren’t getting in no matter what, we just refused to leave until at least 6:30 p.m., when the doors opened for the 7 p.m. show, which ended up working in our favor.
(Here’s step one for getting into a secret show without tickets: do not leave. This may sound obvious, but half of the line had left by the time ticket holders went inside, and they ended up giving passes to the 20 or so of us that stubbornly remained.)
Even though I’ve never felt so cold in my life and may have lost some feeling in my limbs, I ended up getting in just in time for Styles’ Q&A with iHeartRadio interviewer Tanya Rad, during which he spoke about his song “Falling” and his identity as an artist, among other things.
Styles was decked out in a mint green blazer with his trademark pearl necklace when he launched into a six-song set list consisting of Fine Line’s “Golden,” “Adore You,” “Watermelon Sugar,” “Falling,” and Harry Styles favorites “Sign of the Times” and “Kiwi.”
The set list, which diverged from the previous night’s session as well as his “Today Show” performance, was enthusiastically received by fans, who screamed his lyrics back to him in the intimate venue — as they yelled, “Just let me adore you,” Styles responded with a smile and, “If you insist.” He added more quips throughout the rest of the night, changing the lyrics in “Falling” to say “The Bowery Ballroom” instead of “The Beachwood Café.” He closed with an explosive performance of “Kiwi,” a sixth song he said was a bonus for Saturday’s show, during which he threw water on fans and sprinkled in some of his truly amazing dance moves.
Even though this experience definitely tested me (thanks, New York weather!), seeing Harry Styles in such a small venue is likely something I’ll never experience again, since he’s moving onto arenas like Madison Square Garden, which also happens to be the location of his newly announced Oct. 30 and 31 event, “Harryween.” So, freezing to the point where I couldn’t feel my hands outside the Bowery Ballroom? Worth it.
Moral of the story: be willing to get hypothermia to get into a Harry Styles secret show. Ignore the people saying you don’t have a chance at getting in. Be prepared, unlike me, and bring gloves. Learn how to sleuth on Twitter. Just heed my advice and you’ll get into a Styles secret show in no time.
