July 26th, 2015 was one of the best days of my life and by far the highlight of my summer. Because on this hot summer night, I got to see my favorite boys perform live in concert for the second time. I still can’t believe I was feet away from Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Liam Payne (members of One Direction) when they performed on stage on their On The Road Again Tour in Minneapolis, MN at the TCF Bank Stadium.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love music, and of course, One Direction. I’ve been in love with this band since I was 13 and their music has been there for me for the past five years of my life. I have watched this band grow and I have grown with them. This tour was very special to me because not only did I get to see them perform days after their 5 year anniversary of being a band, but I also played a huge part in orchestrating the 1D MN fan project which was put together through a group chat on twitter to make the concert extra special for everyone attending, especially the boys.

We wanted to put together a project for the boys to show them how much we appreciate them because One Direction has been through a lot this year. The On The Road Again tour was supposed to be their strongest tour yet, but then one of the One Direction members, Zayn, left the band in the middle of the tour. Of course, like many others, I was heartbroken. Zayn was a huge part of this band. But then rumors and drama surfaced that actually brought this band and our fandom together and made us stronger, so in a weird way I’m kind of thankful for it. Because compared to the last tour I saw the boys on, this time around they seemed so much more connected with the fans and like they were genuinely enjoying every minute on stage.

So about month prior to the concert, I, along with many other fans from Minnesota, started talking on twitter and put together one of the best fan projects ever. We basically put people from different sections of the stadium in charge of handing out signs to hold up during the song “Don’t Forget Where You Belong.” The lower and upper level sections of the stadium had hearts to hold up, the floor right had signs that said “Thank You For 5 Years” and the floor left had signs that said “Far From Over.” You can see more about the planning process of our project here.

When it came time for the concert, my sister and I made our way down to Minneapolis to see our favorite band in our home state. It was kind of a surreal experience because the last time we saw them was last summer on their Where We Are Tour in Chicago, when we made the last minute decision three days before the concert to buy tickets and take a road trip to see them perform { you can read more about that here: Spontaneous Road Trip }. This time around, we were so excited because One Direction was coming to us, rather than the other way around. We also were really close and had awesome seats that were right by the catwalk of the stage. We were so ready for the night to unfold to see how our fan project would turn out and if we all could really pull it off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before One Direction took the stage, my sister and I took the time to pass our the signs for the fan project in our side of the stage. We printed off about 300 copies of the signs saying “Far From Over” and explained the project to the fans.

Fans were very receptive of the project and were happy to participate. We were pleased with the fans reactions and hoped the project would actually work out and be successful. As we passed out the signs, we ran into other groups of fans passing out signs. Which was awesome because it meant a lot of people were helping out and helping others become involved. We were so excited to see how it would turn out as the night went on and as we awaited “Don’t Forget Where You Belong” to start.

Opening for One Direction on their On The Road Again Tour was Icona Pop. Most of the audience, including myself, only knew a few of their popular songs so it was kind of a slow lead up to 1D. But as soon as their set ended, the sun started to set and the fans started to chant for the boys. When the intro video started playing, all chill was lost.

One Direction opened with their song “Clouds,” which has been one of my favorite since they released their new album back in November. It was so fun to see that song performed live and I loved hearing the amazing vocals on it in person.

All of the songs One Direction performed live I loved, which isn’t surprising. I also loved where our seats were located, it was so fun being at the end of the catwalk. The boys spent a lot of time running up and down the stage so it was awesome to be close to them.

I absolutely loved being this close, it was surreal. I have waited five years for this kind of experience. It was the best night ever.

 

Seeing “You and I” performed live again was by far the highlight of my night, seriously so good. JUST LISTEN TO THOSE VOCALS, YES HARRY!

Like the girl who held the poster in the picture above, I’ll never be able to thank this band for all they’ve done for their fans for the past five years. Attempting to pull off a project for them during the concert was us Minnesota fans trying to show them how much we truly love and appreciate them.

We pulled it off and I had goosebumps the entire time. You can see from this video that the entire floor was covered in a sea of white, the fans all held up signs that said “far from over” and “thank you for 5 years.” The lower and upper levels held up red and pink heart cut outs.

Their reactions to our project were so cute, I absolutely loved being a part of this. The boys were genuinely surprised and everyone in the audience was in awe of how the project turned out. Handing out hundreds of signs to fans in our section was so worth it.

The entire night was so much fun, from start to finish. Personally I thought this tour was the strongest one yet, despite the fact that Zayn had left and the boys were continuing on as a four piece. The boys seemed so close to one another and seemed to be enjoying themselves. They performed with lots of energy and the vocals were incredible. The boys genuinely thanked everyone in the crowd many times, telling us how much they appreciated our constant support throughout the past five years. It was one of the strongest shows of the OTRA tour and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.

Another fun highlight from the night was seeing Niall perform “Act My Age” with the boys, its basically his Irish song. He does this cute little Irish jig throughout it and it’s adorable, you have to check it out :) :

Niall telling us we are his favorite show of the american leg of the tour. Awww.

My sister and I had the best night ever and I miss it so much already. I always love seeing the boys in concert and I loved being able to be this close to them this tour. The experience was like none other, especially after waiting five years to finally be that close to them. It was a dream come true, especially for this crazy fangirl. I’m so glad I was able to experience it with my sister, she’s my favorite concert buddy. I’m also so glad we were able to pull of the fan project and that we played a part in making our OTRA show extra special. Thanks to One Direction for a fun night, the On The Road Again tour was the best one yet, see you guys soon. xx