How hard is it to sell out the Dome at America’s Center? Well, I can tell you Taylor Swift had no issues filling the stadium with loyal fans of all ages. What’s even more impressive is that she was able to do this on a Tuesday night.

The Reputation Tour came to St. Louis on Tuesday, and the Dome was opened up for the rare occasion since being closed since the departure of the St. Louis Rams. The tour did not only have the multi-Grammy award winner, but also Charli XCX and Camila Cabello both performed songs that have made summer hit lists before.

Swift highlighted the fact that this show was a girl-empowering show from the openers to the background dancers. Encouraging her mostly female fan base and telling them that women-empowerment is an amazing and powerful thing.

Swift kicked off her show with a video highlighting her past and her reputation. She appeared on stage singing “… Ready for It?” The crowd erupted into cheers as she engaged with them, getting everyone stoked with fireworks and smoke machines.

After performing a couple songs, she took a second to address the audience and said, “St. Louis, you have no idea how many Thanksgivings I have spent here.”—Swift having a lot of family that lives in St. Louis—which only made the crowd louder. She soon moved her talk into a smooth transition of the song “Gorgeous.”

Swift focused this tour more on her latest album “Reputation” but she also made sure to throw in some cult classics. She sang a melody of “Style,” “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me.” The mashup making the long-time fans especially ecstatic. She also made sure to recognize that she could see all of her fans in the stadium because every fan was given a light-up bracelet that synced to the music. Swift said this helped her recognize every person from the front of the room to the very last row of the stadium.

She went into her next act with a video interlude to her first single off of her last album “Look What You Just Made Me Do.” It had a surprise video snippet of Tiffany Haddish saying the famous line “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because she’s dead!” Swift made sure this was an experience by  having a giant inflatable snake rise behind her as she performed.

Along with the giant inflatable snake, two more appeared at her back b-stages. Swift made sure to make an entrance to her first b-stage by floating by on a lit boat, soaring over her fans while singing her most recent single “Delicate.” But not before giving some of her notorious advice, she spoke about how we all want to be validated and not portrayed as something we aren’t. We all want something real, we all want some form of love, whether that is through friendship, family or a significant other.

At her first b-stage in the back left corner was a whirlwind for her fans. She brought out Charli XCX and Cabello and they performed “Shake it Off” together. Swift soon took it down a notch though and went down an acoustic route with just her and a guitar. Doing a stripped-down rendition of “Dancing with Our Hands Tied” and then brought back her song “Hey Stephen” from her second album “Fearless.”

Soon, she walked to her next stage and touched the hands of her dedicated fans. As soon as she reached the b-stage she went into her infamous song, “Blank Space.”

She did another song before she was whisked off to the main stage, a mashup of “Bad Blood” and “Should’ve Said No.”

Swift again took the time to slow things down and we found her seated at the piano. She addressed the crowd again and explains how crazy it is that people have been listening to her music for so long. She adds that she’s amazed that people still listen, and for them her music wasn’t just a phase. She takes these words and displays them by going into her song “Long Live” from her album “Fearless” and flowing it into her latest ballad “New Years Day.”

As the show neared its end, Swift pulled out all the stops. Confetti, fireworks and a collaboration of her songs “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “This is Why we Can’t Have Nice Things.”

This was more than just a show. It was an experience. Swift made you feel like you were just one of her friends and that you were there to dance and have a great time with her. Her stages, sets, outfit changes and more made this an overwhelming event that I guarantee did not disappoint.

105.7 The Point Big Summer Show did not disappoint at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater on July 9. The show consisted of the groups Welshly Arms, K. Flay, Walk the Moon and headliner Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Fans ranged in all ages from middle-aged adults to young kids – all there to see alternative pop/rock bands that would take to the stage later that evening. The lawn was filled with people on their picnic blankets and lawn chairs from when the doors opened at 5:30 p.m. The full venue showed the dedication of  the fans because the amphitheater is outdoors, meaning they also had to endure the famous St. Louis heat and humidity.

Walk the Moon took to the stage after performances from Welshly Arms and K. Flay. Their opening song sure made everyone turn to the stage confused but in awe as the Circle of Life blared through the speakers. They certainly made the entrance they wanted, with all eyes on them.

The band started off their show with a song off of their latest studio album, “What If Nothing,” to get the crowd excited and on their feet. Walk the Moon did a great job of playing a mix of their three albums, which pleased fans who have been there from the beginning and fans who may have just started to enjoy their music.

They finished off with the perfect mix of their most well-known song, “Shut Up and Dance” and the song “Headphones” off of their last album, encouraging the crowd to get up on their feet and dance. They ended their set with the song that originally put them on the map, “Anna Sun,” before they took their final bows and exited the stage.

Soon enough, all that stood between the fans and Thirty Seconds to Mars was a 20-minute intermission. The stage was stripped of everything, only leaving a guitar stand and a huge screen that took up most of the stage.

When the lights dimmed, the screen lit up and blocked the stage, while the band members took to their spots. The crowd erupted in cheers as they patiently waited for the screen to be lifted. As it slowly lifted, there stood Jared Leto and his brother Shannon Leto.

Jared Leto is known for wearing crazy outfits and this time he did not disappoint. In a red flowy shirt, red pants, red sneakers, black sunglasses and most importantly, gold sequined gloves,he strutted around stage.

During the song “This is War” they brought up a contestant winner who rocked out on guitar with them while Jared Leto ran across the stage, making sure that all sides of the amphitheater were clearly entertained.

They dropped giant inflatable balloons into the crowd in the middle of their set to keep the crowd alive, and they also finished the show off with confetti. Not only was the band interacting with the crowd through random balloons and scraps of paper, but Jared Leto encouraged fans to sing with him and even brought people up on stage multiple times throughout the show. He finished the show with around 150 to 200 people on stage with him and his brother.

Thirty Seconds to Mars was not only there to entertain you, but they also did it while sounding amazing on stage. They sound just as good live as they do on their albums. You definitely get your money’s worth at a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert.

Overall, the experience of 105.7 The Point Big Summer Show was amazing. Whether you were in the front row of the pit or in the very back of the lawn, it was hard to leave this show disappointed.

If you did not find yourself at the Imagine Dragons concert on July 11 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, I would say you definitely missed out on one of the best concerts of the summer. The show was sold out and the venue was jammed with fans from the moment the gates opened.

Grace Vanderwaal opened for the band, dressed in her signature flower crown and ukulele in hand. I found her to be an interesting choice to open for Imagine Dragons because she does not necessarily fit with the band’s sound and aesthetic, but she does have popularity as the 2016 winner of  America’s Got Talent.

Imagine Dragons soon took to the stage as the crowd’s anticipation ran high, kicking off the show with its hit “Radioactive.” The band played hit after hit from its three albums, and the song selections made you realize how many popular songs Imagine Dragons have.

The band is currently on its Revolve World Tour, promoting its latest studio album with the same title. Despite Imagine Dragons’ purpose to promote its new album, it do not solely play songs from “Revolve.” The band made sure to keep a varying amount of tracks from their entire discography, which proved easy to do considering its members played 20 songs on stage that night.

The 20-song setlist seemed to fly by as front man Dan Reynolds made sure to keep the crowd up and on their feet for the whole show, with the help of varying light displays, fire and smoke machines and loads of confetti. The pit was absolutely drowning in the shreds of paper by the end of the night.

Halfway through the set, the concert was interrupted when the speakers cut out during the song “Rise.”  There was silence when Reynolds tapped on all the mics on stage and the instruments could barely be heard. He held up a single finger to signal they would be right back and the band members all exited. The stage was quiet and empty for about three minutes before the band came back out and started to perform “I Don’t Know Why,” meaning they never got the chance to finish the song “Rise.”

Another way the band made sure to have the whole amphitheater feel involved was by setting up a b-stage that was located further back and closer towards the fans in the lawn. The band simply walked through the crowd to the b-stage, high-fiving people and taking pictures with them as its members went by. Once they reached the other stage, the band performed stripped-down acoustic versions of a couple of their songs. Reynolds also took a moment to thank everyone for coming and even said that his parents were actually in the crowd that evening.

After the b-stage performances, the group made its way back to the main stage for the encore. Following  the song “Demons,” Reynolds took time to talk about depression and mental health. He talked about how important it is that one seeks out the help they need to get oneself to a healthier place. He mentioned how he struggled with depression for two years and how you cannot let your demons control you.

Imagine Dragons finished off with its song “Believer” before the members came to the front of the stage to take their final bow. The band made a hasty exit immediately following the show.

If you have never seen Imagine Dragons before, I highly recommend that you take the next opportunity you can to go see them. Even if you are not a die-hard fan, their concert will entertain you and offer a fun rock-alternative vibe that anyone can enjoy.

The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore took to the stage on July 10 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. Despite the brutal heat, fans filled the pavilion and lawn to be close to the two stars.

Fans showed up covered in glitter, rainbows, glitter, funky outfits and did I mention glitter? The glitter was nothing less than abundant on almost every person who came out to enjoy the show.

Macklemore performed first on his stage that looked like a backyard getaway. It had palm trees, hammocks, fake grass and a picnic table to top it all off. Macklemore had high energy with background dancers and a full band. He made sure to tell stories between most songs, creating a perfect segway into the next one. He also played all of his major songs, from “Thrift Shop” to “Same Love” to ensure the crowd would be singing along with him all evening.

Macklemore kept fans energized by making sure they felt involved in the show. During his song “Willy Wonka,” he invited two guests on stage who had golden tickets located under their seats. They sat on an air mattress, got to watch Macklemore perform close-up as he also jumped and sang right in between them. My personal favorite Macklemore moment with the audience was when he threw a packaged hot dog into the crowd, which was successfully caught and eaten by a proud fan.

Macklemore closed up his set before Kesha took the stage. She made her debut from a huge spaceship, located in the center back of the stage.

Kesha came out singing songs off of her latest album “Rainbow,” and all of her fans immediately sang along with her. Kesha strutted around the stage and had numerous outfit changes. But would it really be a Kesha concert if she did not have confetti? In fact, the singer had her own confetti cannon and was shooting it into the crowd multiple times.

Kesha played not only new songs, but also the classics that put her on the map. One of her most anticipated songs “Praying” was definitely her best song vocally because the singer really put herself into that song, instead of focusing on the antics of performing. She made a speech after performing the song and explained how every time she sings that song, it makes her feel emotional and reminds her that she had a fear of never doing this again. “Praying” was her revival song after she went to court against Dr. Luke, who she accused of sexual abuse.

Macklemore came back out to join Kesha and they performed their summer hit single “Good Old Days.” The fun and upbeat song made the crowd ecstatic, especially since it is getting so much radio play recently. It was amazing to hear such a current popular song being played right in front of you.

Overall, Kesha did not impress with her vocals. She seemed rushed and her voice did not seem strong. She seemed to often skip out on high notes in favor of a dance move or more confetti. Her singing was not bad, but it was just not up to par like one would hope after listening to her albums.

The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore Tour was a sight to see – but vocally, it missed the mark. Both artists made sure the crowd was having a fun time, which I admired most.