Is an internet sensation and pop star-on-the-rise. He has amassed a large following online, been professionally releasing music for the past year, and recently embarked on a tour around the United States, drawing in fans around the country. A seemingly endless line of teenagers swirled around the block surrounding the U Street Music Hall, each teen adorned in stripes, merch, and primary colors. These teenagers traveled from all over the DC area (or the country, in some cases), and each and every one of them was there to see Conan. While Conan’s opener, was too sick to perform, fans filled the time by getting to know each other, singing and jumping along to the music playing. Music from Lorde, the Jonas Brothers, Shawn Mendes, Paramore and The 1975 filled the music hall.

Longtime fans clearly recognized that these were songs Conan had shared in “favorite” videos on his channel.Fans were even frenzied at the idea of Conan stepping on stage. As the crew began to appear on stage to simply set up, fans jumped and cheered. When Conan finally ran on stage, there was a sonic boom of screams. Conan opened with his telling of the American youth experience, rich with imagery and personal experience. His singing was focused and passionate. Technique-wise it was similar to the professionally recorded EP version. He held out the mic for fans to contribute and fans shouted the lyrics back, not missing a beat.

He was visibly excited to be there, and kept the energy high.After the song ended, Conan shared the fact that last time he was in DC he was eleven years old and that he “went to see dinosaurs, and had a great f.ing time!” Fans lost their minds at this, as he is known for being very, so hearing him swear (off of Snapchat and Twitter) was jarring and shocking for some followers. Also, who doesn’t love dinosaurs? PC: Helen EhrlichFrom the moment the first few chords of began, fans were shouting and singing along.

“The Other Side,” one of Conan’s first songs, was only recently professionally released, and was all about trying to get out of his small town. Conan then wordlessly continued with, another one of his firsts, singing of growing up and achieving life goals, similar to the overarching theme of many of his songs. While “Grow” was not included on his EP it was incredibly fitting for his show. “Grow” was written about leaving his small town, and going on to bigger things.

With Conan on stage and under the lights, it was clear that he had “made it out.”. PC: Helen EhrlichConan opened his most emotional song “Lookalike” by explaining the depth of the passion he felt for someone and how everyone else is just a “copycat.” Without any prompting, fans held up little blue paper hearts in front of their cell phone flashlights. Fans all around were crying big fat black mascara sobs that left smears all over their faces, at the sheer depth of his voice and lyrics. Conan’s voice was deeply emotional on this song, and the impressive runs that he included on “erase you from my mind” highlighted his expressive capabilities.Conan then sang, a song never professionally released. He sang this one on his YouTube channel two years ago, sitting in front of a field back in his home state of Texas. He added some slight note changes and his drummer increased the percussion in the background, but the song was almost completely unchanged, leaving the secret place untouched.

PC: Helen EhrlichConan took a moment to himself onstage, asking if anyone in the audience had ever felt, “really, really, really, really lonely?” he then called for a cheer for loneliness, and the crowd happily obliged. He talked about his experience of feeling deeply alone over the summer and just wanting his friends. He talked about the kind of friends where you can sit in perfect silence with them, and then just show them something on your phone. He then said, “If you’ve got friends here tonight, give ‘em a big fat hug! And if you’re not here with a friend tonight, you are my friend, I love you so much!” He also sang an unreleased song, “Comfort Crowd.” It’s a bittersweet ode to the best of friends, and if he chooses to professionally release it, it will be one of his most heartbreakingly beautiful songs to date.

Song 'Idle Town' ukulele chords and tabs by Conan Gray. Free and guaranteed quality tablature with ukulele chord charts, transposer and auto scroller.

PC: Helen Ehrlich“Idle Town” was his first “professional” song, recorded in a closet in his bedroom in Texas. He asked if anyone was from a small town, and he took a moment to speak about how he spent so long trying to get out of his idle town, and how it inspired so much of his work. Before the song began, he took a cowboy hat from someone in the audience, sharing that every time he’s about to sing that song, a hat “makes its way over”.

He then joked, “a true king knows his crown”. Seeing “Idle Town” preformed in person with Conan’s voice live and him on a stage, was surreal for so many.Conan brought the house down with his rendition of “Sk8er Boi” blended with his own version of that same message, The lighting was a pinkish red for “Sk8er Boi” but as Conan dropped to the ground, the lights shifted blue and he rose again a moment later singing “The King”. While I had previously written that “The King” sounds like I could not have envisioned a better mashup than “The King” and “Sk8er Boy.” Conan was loud, fierce and simply electric. PC: Helen EhrlichBeyond just the music, Conan managed to create a sense of community and a friendly atmosphere, reflective of his sunny persona and message of kindness.

I interviewed one girl who flew from South Carolina to be there who spoke of how he pulled her through a dark time in the hospital. Before the concert, fans were chattering and giggling together, and throughout the night, fans could be seen swapping Instagrams and forming fast friendships.Conan Gray is a born performer. He captured the entire essence of the American teenage experience, from his flag bandana, to his “Home Of The Free” shirt similar to ones that parents dress their children in for suburban Fourth Of Julys.

He has an innate ability to draw in a crowd and keep the energy the same from the moment he stepped on stage to the moment he runs off. This is a star who will be performing stadium tours someday, likely soon.

At the U Street Music Hall, Conan Gray was closer to Georgetown, DC than he was to his hometown of Georgetown, Texas – he most certainly has made it to the other side.Featured Image Credit: Helen Ehrlich.

In an alternative timeline, 20-year-old Conan Gray would be in class right now. In 2017, he was a high school senior in Texas who had just come off UCLA’s waitlist. Then, his music video for “Idle Town,” a homemade folk-pop ode to his coming-of-age in Georgetown, Texas—the visuals show Gray singing into a plastic water bottle, suburban streets, a friend blowing out the candles on a heart-shaped birthday cake—started amassing millions of views on YouTube.At the time, it had seemed like just another upload to Gray—one video among the many, in which he usually sat in a plant-filled bedroom and talked about bullying, or shared thrift-store hauls and the contents of his sketchbook. But it changed his life, he tells me in a boba shop in Manhattan’s East Village, garnering fans and music label attention. Now, his channel is more likely to offer music videos and tour vlogs. Still, even after Gray signed with a major label, his online presence maintains that DIY feel, honest and unpolished. The singer-songwriter still does it all himself, because that’s how he likes it.

The battle of solferino in 1859 spain england. Contents.The battle led the Swiss to write his book,. Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Dunant set about a process that led to the and the establishment of the. Although he did not witness the battle (his statement is contained in an 'unpublished page' included in the 1939 English edition published by the American Red Cross), he toured the field following the battle and was greatly moved by what he saw.

When it comes to songwriting, Gray prefers his bedroom over studio sessions: “I met with a bunch of people I’d looked up to since I was a kid. But in the end, it was the stuff that I wrote on my own and the stuff that was personal that ended up being the best fit,” he says. His and single covers feature his own handwriting and drawings. Until recently, he also wrote and directed his music videos—though he’s still coming up with all the concepts. He doesn’t necessarily need school for that, though.

His desire to be understood and form connections is why he writes music and goes on tour. According to him, pop music makes feelings easy to understand, even the hard-to-explain ones. “It was just like a spark in my head,” he said.

“No one ever understood what I was going through until I was telling them in songs.” That doesn’t mean the life that goes along with songwriting has been easy to adjust to. “The past year has been a lot of me figuring out how to understand my life with people watching it,” he says. “I’ve always been a chameleon; you just have to figure out how to be in certain situations. I always shoved myself into new roles—with going on stage and doing all these things I’d never done before, I had to do that as well.”He talks openly of his younger self—in our interview, even on stage—his loneliness, having to adapt to a constantly shifting childhood, and the constant feeling that he was out of place. Gray says he’s from Texas, because that’s the longest he’s ever spent in one place, but as a child, because of divorces and money and life, he moved around a lot, always adjusting to new homes, schools, and friends.In his songs, Gray tells small-town stories of loneliness: of two boys who fall in love, friends who promise each other they’ll one day have more, or exes who say one thing and do another (as in his latest single, “”). “I was just a really lonely kid, and I really wanted a family, because mine was a mess,” he said.

When he realized his songs were striking a chord in people, he thought there might be something in it, and that he could build a community of his own. “I think that’s a big goal of mine, to not be so lonely, ultimately.”.

Photo: Mallory TurnerPerhaps, he says, he attracts people who have gone through a lot too. “Things happen to us that we feel have only happened to us, and that’s how I felt until people started listening to my music,” Gray says. “We’re all human, and we all have something in common, no matter how different we may feel.” Those who grew up watching him iron patches onto his backpack and drinking Keurig coffee while chatting to the camera won’t find as much of that content on his channel these days. But Gray still holds tightly to the ethos that drew them all in to begin with. He’s created a little world that serves both him and his fans: He plays; they create inside jokes.During his fall shows, he’s been playing an unreleased song called “The Story,” which will be on the forthcoming album.

At New York’s Terminal 5, he introduces the song with a little preamble: “I didn’t have much of a family, and I kind of felt like I was alone out there,” he says softly. “And there were a lot of times growing up, when I was little, that I just didn’t really think that I was gonna make it past 12 or 13, you know?”It’s not exactly the same as his, but watching him treat a gaggle of thousands like confidants is equally special.

“I’d like to think that people are able to listen to my music and know exactly what I’ve gone through, and also know that I am telling them the truth—that I’m telling them a secret,” he says. He is honest—sometimes unglamorously so.

To him, there’s no point in being anything less.