Gracie Abrams mobilizes “childless cat or dog lovers” and cheers Chappell Roan at concert in LA

LOS ANGELES – Gracie Abrams sings as if she were letting you in on a secret.

It's a song she's sharing with her loved ones – a few thousand fans – on her 54-city (and counting) Secret of Us tour, promoting her second album of the same name. The album comes after a banner year that saw Abrams embark on her third headlining tour, open for Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour (a role she'll reprise later this year for Swift's final North American shows), and earn her first Grammy nomination for her debut album.

As she screams out lyrics about budding romance and failed love and all the confusing vicissitudes in between, Abrams sometimes seems transported back to the room where she wrote her songs, “feeling very big feelings in a very short period of time,” as she describes it. At other moments, she's here with us in the Greek Theater, as we scream her lyrics back to her, in catharsis, into the starless night sky.

It was clear from the volume of the audience's voices that we all felt the longing and sorrow that influenced their music.

When she is with us in the here and now, she takes the opportunity to be self-deprecating, rolling her eyes and making faces because she knows that she has not only grown from the experiences she sings about, but that her feelings are also shared by the more than 5,000 admirers in the audience.

And at the end of the set all she feels is “Now free.”

It's a one-way street between Gracie Abrams and her fans

Wednesday night – five shows into her “Secret of Us” tour – was the second of three performances for the 25-year-old Abrams in her hometown of Los Angeles. She told diehard fans in the audience that this was supposed to be her first LA performance until promoters scheduled a Monday concert due to high demand.

“This is a real dream. I grew up always going to the Greek. … And this is a venue that I really wanted to be at. I know we all love playing here so much,” she said. “This is the second night we've been lucky enough to play, and tomorrow night we're playing here too. And I want to thank all of you for selling it out first.”

With the most successful year of her career behind her, Abrams could have easily relied solely on her relationship with “Us” collaborator Swift, but throughout her performance, she maintained a sometimes palpable connection with her fans.

As she sang, she knelt down in her semi-opaque white maxi dress to create special moments with those in the front row and boldly took selfies with those who passed her their phones — all without breaking her rhythm or missing a note.

Abrams blew kisses, waved enthusiastically near and far, and giggled as she responded “Hi!” to a few lucky ones in the crowd filled with teenagers in low-slung jeans, ruffled maxi skirts, and bows in their hair. If gratitude were a currency, Abrams' fans would be rich with their “thank yous.”

“You're all just really extraordinary, really special, really important people. And I really try to weave your generosity into my songs and stories,” she said after revisiting her 2020 debut EP, “21.” “We're just in the same boat, and it's a huge relief and a gift that you've given me, so thank you.”

As her set came to a close, Abrams took a moment to reflect on “our relationship,” which was largely shaped by her viral YouTube DIY lyric video “I Miss You, I'm Sorry,” which was accompanied by a wave of vulnerability in 2020.

“This thing is really a two-way street. And the only reason we get to be on stage tonight is because you guys care, and I just hope you feel how much you all mean to me,” Abrams said. “I really feel like we're just one big happy family – a happy family, and we all like sad music.”

An introduction to Gracie Abrams: Get to know the heart-wrenching hits of the Grammy nominees

Gracie Abrams encourages “childless cat or dog owners” to vote

After more than an hour, Abrams introduced “some of my favorite people in the history of the world,” namely the members of her band – drummer Gabe Smith, bassist Cooper Cowgill, guitarist Elle Puckett and keyboardist Casey Kalmenson – and then talked about democratic elections.

One of them was the just-aired MTV Video Music Awards, where Chappell Roan was named best new artist. (“I voted for her every day. … I think it's really fortunate that we live in the same time as a once-in-a-generation artist like Chappell Roan,” said Abrams, who was also nominated in that category.)

But also the presidential elections in November.

“It's really crazy because deep down we really see each other and what we see is what we know, even if parts of our politics want us to ignore it,” Abrams said when talking about touring with her band. “Are there any childless cat or dog lovers here? Did any of you see the debate last night? Are we all going to vote?”

Amid cheers from the crowd, she replied, “I thought so. See you there.”

She said the “great thing” about being on the road this fall is that nonprofits HeadCount and Planned Parenthood are “on tour with us.” “The work they do is so important,” Abrams said.

“Our democracy is hanging by a thread,” she continued. “It's at stake, and we have to step up and do something about it. So I'm really grateful that you are all people who care about government.”

Gracie Abrams' setlist for the Secret of Us tour

His record label mate Role Model, also known as 27-year-old Tucker Harrington Pillsbury, opened the show with his catchy hits, including “Blind” and “Deeply Still in Love.”

1. “I felt comfortable with you”

2. “Risk”

3. “Blow out smoke”

4. “21”

5. “I love you, I’m sorry”

6. “Where do we go now?”

7. “Gave you, I gave you, I”

8. “Screw it up”

9. “Full machine”

10. Surprise song: “I Should Hate You”

11. “Good luck, Charlie”

12. “I knew it, I know you”

13. “I know it won’t work”

14. “Friend”

15. “Normal thing”

16. “Feels like”

17. “Let it happen”

18. “Hard Love”

19. “I miss you, I’m sorry”

20. “Now free”

Encore

1. “Us”

2. “Near you”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gracie Abrams concert review: Singer gets personal and urges fans to vote