Coldplay's Energy Lights Up The Stage

What a magical night it was at FedEx Field in Landover Maryland Wednesday. Coldplay would bring their Music of the Spheres World Tour to the DMV. After releasing their ninth studio album in October of 2021, Coldplay would embark on a globe spanning tour to promote the record. One of the band's primary focuses of the tour was to make the tour as sustainable and low carbon as possible. They would begin the show with a short video which explained the initiatives being used and how they fit into the show. It was pretty cool to learn how much of what we were about to experience was due to renewable energy. The backstage generators were run on recycled cooking oil, while show batteries were charged via solar and wind power. One of the more unique things to me was the energy generated from the fans themselves. There were bikes toward the back of the venue that fans could pedal while watching the show. The energy from the bikes was collected and used to help power the show. Finally, and the coolest feature to me, was the use of kinetic floors. The floors would collect and store kinetic energy created by dancing fans, which would help power the next stop of the tour. Portions of ticket proceeds went to reforestation, ocean clean up, conservation, re-soiling, and carbon capture.

As night fell, the inside of FedEx field would shine bright. A massive stage of circular LED screens would come to life, illuminating the crowd. The giant screens would follow the band through the backstage area as they headed towards the stage. Coldplay would emerge in the center of the venue as they entered the stage waving and greeting fans. Frontman Chris Martin would remain at the center part of the stage as the rest of his bandmates would make their way down the catwalk toward their instruments on the main stage. A countdown would begin on screen and when the clock hit 0, a mass of fireworks would stream from the back of the stage as the music began. Martin would perform the first couple songs as he roamed the massive setup, performing to each section of the venue, before heading to the piano for the band's hit song Paradise. Wristbands that were handed out as fans entered, created an amazing show of synchronized lights as the show progressed adding to the already vibrant atmosphere. 

After several songs, Martin would again sit at his piano and perform "The Scientist" as the rest of the band headed to the circular stage in the middle of the venue. The Band would perform three songs on the stage including their mega hit "Viva La Vida", before heading back to the main stage. The entire night was a visually stunning experience and kept fans dancing and singing along for the entire 23 song set. The setlist and photos can be found below!

Setlist:

Higher Power

Adventure of a Lifetime

Paradise

Charlie Brown

The Scientist

Viva La Vida

Hymn for the Weekend

Let Somebody Go

In My Place

Yellow

Human Heart

People of the Pride

Clocks

InfinitySign

Something Just Like This

Midnight

My Universe

A Sky Full of Stars

Sparks

Washington, DC the Day We Got Set Free

Humankind

Fix You

Biutyful

All photos, credit, and copyrights: Joseph Noyes