REVIEW: Conan Gray Brings His Wishbone World Tour to Atlanta
- Noah De Los Rios
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
The modern pop icon gives fans a magical night at his sold-out State Farm Arena show
Conan Gray brought his Wishbone World Tour to the beautiful city of Atlanta for a night full of fun, tears, and a place where you can just be yourself. When Olivia Rodrigo’s “bad idea right?” comes on, it is time to scramble to your seats. This song marks the start of your wonderful night with Conan Gray. The chorus hits and the line, “Now I'm gettin' in the car, wreckin' all my plans I know I should stop—” BAM! Lights off. The crowd goes wild knowing that the star of the night is about to emerge.
The hum of lights starts as fog rolls across the stage. A glowing blue screen flashes “The Wishbone World Tour.” Silhouettes move in front of the big screen as the crowd screams louder and louder until suddenly Conan appears riding a bike onto the stage, sending the arena into a frenzy. Throughout the night, the energy moves like waves. One moment the crowd is dancing and screaming every lyric to songs like “My World” and “Maniac,” and the next moment the room goes quiet as thousands of fans hold up their phone lights for emotional songs like “Family Line,” “Connell,” and “Heather.” During “Heather,” the audience practically becomes a choir, singing the chorus back to him so loudly that Conan pauses and smiles, clearly taking in the moment, and then singing a previously unreleased chorus of the song.
He sings a really vulnerable song called “The Best,” which as of right now is unreleased, about how he can finally let go of his last relationship and wish the other person “the best” in life. With lyrics like “Haunting me all of the time / I’d take back the s—t that I said / When I was so pissed that you left / I could make peace with it / Finally sleep with it / Finally wish you the best,” the song reflects on how he deals with the grief of lost love. The arena becomes almost silent as fans listen closely, many already singing along even though the song hasn’t officially come out yet.
After he sings his unreleased song “The Best,” he walks around the stage to find who he wants to choose for the next song. His tradition on this tour is to have a fan break a wishbone with him, and whoever gets the longer end chooses the next song from the two options Conan puts on the screen. This show had the choices “This Song” or “Yours,” and the fan chose “Yours!”
Fans have come to love this tour tradition because it makes every show feel different and gives the audience a chance to be part of the setlist. On his last tour, his tradition was to wear a white tank top with red writing that alluded to his song “Bourgeoisieses” with funny phrases like, “Burger Jesus,” “Boygenius,” “Boy Who Sneezes”, and many more different versions!
He included a section of the setlist where Conan himself chooses a song for the night, he calls it “Conan’s Campfire.” The Atlanta show got the song “Astronomy” after Conan states Georgia has “many different types of stars you can’t see anywhere else” and when he said that, the crowd was the loudest it has ever been knowing exactly which song he was about to sing.
Throughout the show, Conan’s personality shines just as brightly as the stage lights. Between songs he jokes with the crowd, tells small stories about the meaning behind certain lyrics, and constantly thanks fans for growing up with him and supporting his music. Those small moments of conversation make the huge arena feel surprisingly intimate, like thousands of friends gathered together for the same emotional rollercoaster of a night.
The Wishbone World Tour proves why Conan Gray has built such a passionate fanbase. His ability to mix humor, heartbreak, and pure joy creates a concert that feels less like a performance and more like a shared experience between him and the fans. By the end of the night, voices are hoarse, mascara is smudged, ribbon sailor hats have fallen off, and everyone leaves knowing they were part of something truly special.
Article and photos by Noah De Los Rios. Please credit @noahgotaphotopass or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
