By Brogan Ringgold
Boston University News Service
Marking her debut at TD Garden, Laufey brought a multi-act fairytale production to life on Oct. 27 for the tour of her most recent album “A Matter of Time.”
Laufey released “A Matter of Time,” her third full-length studio album, on Aug. 22, and it went on to top four major Billboard charts in its first week of streams and sales. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Jazz Albums, Independent Albums, Traditional Jazz albums, and Vinyl Albums charts. She also debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, scoring her first top 10 and highest of her career, according to Billboard.
The tour, curated by Laufey and her twin sister Junia, who doubles as her creative director, began on Sept. 15 at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. Boston was Laufey’s last stop before she embarks on the European section of the tour in February 2026, beginning in Zurich, Germany. Alice Phoebe Lou and Elín Hall will open for Laufey in Europe, while Suki Waterhouse opened for the US leg of the tour.
As fans waited for her performance to begin, Laufey kept her audience busy with trivia games playing on the arena screens along with live camera footage to feature fans dressed up for the night.
The show began promptly at 8:45 p.m., with old-fashioned black-and-white credits rolling to the sound of an overture of her music leading into her first song of the night, “Clockwork,” the first track of “A Matter of Time.”
Laufey structured the show around five acts, each one marking a new set of songs, a new theme, and a new outfit.
During Act I, Laufey played more of her pop-centered songs, featuring her hit song “Falling Behind,” as well as the lead single “Silver Lingings” from her album. She introduced herself to her fans and spoke about her fond memories of Boston.
Laufey studied cello at Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in 2021. Here, she released her first song, “Street by Street,” featured on her first EP “Typical of Me.”
“I remember when I was a Berklee student…and I was like ‘Oh my god! Maybe one day I’ll be on stage and be like ‘Hey, anybody here from Berklee?’” she said. “So you never know what will happen. Keep chasing your dreams.”
Act II began with the question, “Are you ready for some jazz?”
At this “jazz club” Laufey changed into a traditional flapper dress and performed new jazz arrangements of her old songs, including “Valentine,” “Fragile,” and “While You Were Sleeping.”
At each show of the tour, Laufey picks one audience member as the “best dressed guest” of the night. A woman by the name of Aisha was awarded the title and crowned by Mei Mei the Bunny, Laufey’s mascot, and the Boston Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster.
Aisha’s outfit was a family task — she wore a moving carousel hat (made with the help of her father), a blue dress, a bag, and a shawl (embroidered by her mother) with the names of all 24 U.S. tour cities.
Transitioning to Act III, Laufey took the chance to show off her cello-playing skills during “Cuckoo Ballet,” an instrumental interlude on the album, composed entirely by the singer. The song brought back her four ballet dancers that had been accompanying the show with choreography.
In Act IV, Laufey sang “Promise,” a track off of her second album “Bewitched.” As she began the song, the audience chimed in loudly, their voices filling the entire stadium. Laufey paused singing, took out her earpiece to listen, and continued to play the piano as her fans took the lead.
“Oh my god, you guys sound beautiful,” she said later in the song, calling the moment a “core memory.”
Laufey also performed the final single from the album “Snow White,” in a vulnerable dance with a mirror on stage, pointing to the song’s meaning.
“I was initially drawn to the song because of its beautiful melody and message, but that feeling was magnified a hundredfold with the visual effects at the concert where Laufey looks into a mirror and confesses her insecurities to an audience of thousands,” said Audrey Tang, a student at Boston University who attended the concert.
“It was a really emotional experience for me because I know so many women in the audience really resonated with the song,” she said.
Laufey closed out the show with “The Final Act” featuring the last song from “A Matter of Time,” “Sabotage,” and surprise song “Slow Down,” from her first album “Everything I Know About Love,” released in 2022.
Thanking her fans for an incredible tour, Laufey danced through the nights end, capping it off with confetti and a Christmas-themed, “The End” screen, where she previewed her new cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” released on streaming platforms on Nov. 5.