Harry Styles Overhauls MSG Set, Tributes Dolly Parton
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- Harry Styles overhauled his setlist for opening night of a 30-show MSG residency, replacing the usual opener "Are You Listening Yet?" with "Dance No More" and dusting off "Carolina," a solo-debut deep cut unplayed live since his first solo tour.
- Styles reordered the show so songs previously played late appeared early and debuted "The Waiting Game" from his latest album "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally." mid-set — its first live performance.
- Mid-show Styles paid tribute to Dolly Parton, whose death was announced Tuesday, playing her recording of "I Will Always Love You" over the P.A. and telling the crowd, "Dolly, we love you."
- Styles recalled playing MSG for the first time at 18 with One Direction in 2012, sharing that a current venue employee told him he'd kissed the floor upon arrival that day and said, "I've made it to Madison Square Garden!"
- The MSG run follows the "Together, Together" tour that launched in Amsterdam 33 shows earlier, during which Styles had played essentially the same set every night apart from a special orchestra show in London.
Why it matters: The 30-show MSG residency is unprecedented for the venue, and the opening-night setlist overhaul — debuting "The Waiting Game" and reviving solo-debut deep cut "Carolina" unplayed live for years — gives fans a reason to return across multiple nights. The Dolly Parton tribute, timed a day after her death, made opening night the residency's reference show.
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