Wednesday night at Agganis Arena was the first stop of Robyn‘s Sexistential Tour in the United States, and Boston showed up dressed to the nines for the occasion. Glitter, flashy outfits, a crowd that showed up to dance and showed up ready. Robyn’s fanbase is famously devoted, and the packed arena reflected that. Nearly eight years after Honey, she’s back on tour, and the crowd knew how special this night was.
Avalon Emerson opened the evening, her set sitting at a more mellow tempo than what followed but serving as a good bridge for a crowd transitioning from their daily jobs to the dance party that was coming. By the time Robyn took the stage at nine, the place was fully packed and ready to dance.
Sexistential, her ninth studio album released in March, is a return to the high-energy dance-pop of the Body Talk era after Honey‘s more reflective sound, and her setlist made that clear this was intentional. “Blow My Mind” opened the show. It’s originally a track of hers from 2002 that she recently reimagined from a romantic song to a tribute to her 3-year old son that reflects on realities of motherhood. The strobe lighting was working overtime all night, particularly for “Fembot” and “Talk to Me”. It was relentless and leaned into the dance party energy without a lot of set pieces or production gimmicks to distract from it. An LED wall in the back and the lights doing the rest.
The setlist jumped between her hits and her new album, and it makes you really appreciate how long Robyn has been consistently delivering good music. 30 years now with no signs of slowing down. A Jamie xx cover of “Life” and “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” brought some of the highest energy moments of the set.
The night’s most quiet and most resonant moment came before an acoustic stretch. Robyn paused and said: “I used to be really embarrassed that I wrote all these really sad love songs. But you know, life is embarrassing. I just kind of leaned into it as they say. I’m so thankful that you’ve listened all these years. Truly grateful. And… you’re just going to have to listen to some more sad love songs.” Then she performed “Be Mine!” and “Show Me Love” stripped back and acoustic, and for a moment the crowd slowed down and took notice. You could have heard a pin drop in the arena.
The encore that everyone knew was coming built everything back up toward the inevitable. “Missing U” and “Call Your Girlfriend” set the room up for the final number everyone knew ahead of time. “Dancing on My Own” closed the night, the song that even people who don’t know Robyn know, and Agganis Arena sang every word along at full volume.
It was the first US date of the Sexistential Tour, on a Wednesday night in Boston, and it felt like a statement. Robyn is back. And she has a room full of people in glitter who have been waiting to dance.
Nathan Smith is a Providence-based music photographer and journalist focusing on capturing the special moments and unfiltered magic of live performances. Whether he’s shooting established artists at sold-out TD Garden shows or documenting the rise of emerging local bands, his goal is the same: to pull viewers directly into the heart of the moment.
His writing spotlights rising artists and local scenes, with a focus on telling the stories that often get overlooked. A lifelong music fan and musician himself, Nathan approaches interviews and portraits as conversations rather than transactions, building trust with artists so their genuine personalities can shine through. Whether he’s backstage, in the photo pit, or at home in front of the keyboard, he brings the same curiosity and care to every assignment.
Outside of his press work with Juice Box Press, Nathan works regularly as a photographer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous bands in the Boston and Providence area. Nathan also plays violin with a local orchestra, follows Celtics basketball almost religiously, and is an avid fantasy reader.