On the 9th November, my friend Adaeze and I went to see AJ Tracey at Alexandra Palace. It was a phenomenal night, filled with laughter, joy and terrible singing from myself which resulted in a rather croaky voice on Sunday morning.

As we walked to the venue, we encountered huge groups of people, with a variety of ages. From bossy mothers with 12 year old daughters, to middle aged men in full AJ Tracey merch.

During our walk, we discussed all our favourite songs, and who we thought would appear. AJ had already performed the night before, so we had heard the low down from older girls in the school about who might make a special appearance. 

When we arrived, the venue was huge, towering above our heads. The strobe lights shone out of the panels of glass, dazzling in the night sky. It became clear to me that there weren’t just a few people going to see the 25 year old. Thousands and thousands of people were queueing between the silver barriers, all funnelled into a tiny column about 5m wide. 

Unfortunately, it started raining, but this didn’t dampen our mood. Around me I could hear the sounds of people reciting ‘Thiago Silva’, the shivering of 15 year old girls in shorts up to their hips and the bellowing of security guards directing people into the next section of the queue.

After security, ticket checking and a lot of queueing, we entered Alexandra Palace, where we went through into the stage area. Luckily, Adaeze and I has secured a good spot within the crowd, where we bustled our way towards the front.

The performance itself was insane, the music so loud you couldn’t hear yourself sing. The flashing lights rebounded off the walls, darting in all directions. Every fan in the audience knew the words, and would break into a yell of recognition after the renowned beat of the first few bars started of AJ’s most popular tracks from 2019, with sweat dripping down their foreheads. 

After spending some time at the front, Adaeze and I decided we wanted a little more fun. Despite having the ability to see AJ clearly in the spotlight, we confirmed with each other that the moshpit was more enticing. There was not one ounce of consideration for anyone in the crowd, as everyone crashed together on the beat drops, something which was both exhilarating and enjoyable. 

The smell of damp from the rain loitered in the air, and every time a new artist was brought out, the audience would rush up towards the stage, like ants to a piece of food.