Pre-pandemic, there were few artists that had such a rapid rise in popularity as Lizzo with hits such as Juice and Good As Hell dominating the zeitgeist and providing a much-needed breath of fresh air in the somewhat melancholic popular music charts. This popularly didn’t dwindle through the early 2020s in the midst of lockdown, with her new album Special cementing her place among music’s A-listers and scooping the GRAMMY for Record of the Year in the process. There was no doubt that the singer would want to back up this hype with a standout arena tour, but what stood out most when TPi visited the team at London’s The O2 was not the impressive lighting rig, audio eminence or the classy looking set, but the people working behind the scenes. This was a crew that was passionate about the production, with each individual from all departments clearly elated to be a part of this show.
This was not the first time TPi had crossed paths with Lizzo having covered her academy tour back in 2019 when she graced the stages of Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse and London’s Brixton Academy in the UK. There’s been a major reshuffle within the camp since those days to create the A-team, which would be able to keep pace with her frankly brutal schedule.
This article originally appeared in issue #275 of TPi, which you can read here.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Alex Waespi and TPi Magazine