Watch boygenius fans in Toronto surprise the band with a Pride-themed light show
The Toronto boygenius Fan Project distributed thousands of pieces of colored paper for fans to hold in front of their phone flashlight during the band’s performance of “Cool About It,” creating a huge rainbow.
boygenius' tour behind their album The Record took them to Toronto last night (June 21), and the show's crowd did a good job of dismantling the city's (admittedly well-earned) reputation for boring concert audiences. As Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus began to perform their song "Cool About It," thousands of people in the 16,000-person capacity Budweiser Stage held up pieces of colored paper in front of their phone flashlights; the highly-coordinated effort resulted in a massive rainbow spread across the entirety of the amphitheater, just in time for the tail end of Pride Month.
As you can see from the videos below, none of the members of boygenius appear to have had any idea what was going on, and they all seem genuinely touched by the display — all three members of the group are part of the LGBTQ+ community and have spoken up in support of queer rights and in defiance of far-right politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
@crywolfclothing @phoebe bridgers said “core memory formed” after fans made a rainbow of flashlights during ‘Cool About It’ at the #boygenius ♬ original sound - crywolfclothing
@slick.loves.boygenius Boygenius reacting to the toronto rainbow fan project during cool about it #phoebebridgers #lucydacus #julienbaker #boygenius ♬ original sound - slick🦷
The rainbow appears to have been planned by The Toronto boygenius Fan Project, a TikTok account that shared details of the light show's organization weeks in advance. Judging from the videos, it involved hours upon hours of volunteer outreach, logistical planning, and slicing paper.
@boygenius_tor 🚨TORONTO BOYGENIUS FANS 🚨 We are organizing a fan project for the Boygenius concert at Budweiser Stage in Toronto on June 21st! Coloured pieces of paper will be distributed by section for you to hold over your phone flashlight during “Cool About It” to create a rainbow 🌈🏳️🌈 • Want to become a section rep? Send us a DM with your name, contact info, and section number! Reps will be expected to meet before the venue’s doors open and to make sure the designated section colours start making their way through their section once most attendees are seated
♬ Cool About It - boygenius
@boygenius_tor Cant wait (im dying on the inside) 😁
♬ original sound - pharbzzzzz
@boygenius_tor ONE WEEK AWAY!! It will all be so worth it
♬ original sound - addy🎀
@boygenius_tor I would never have imagined this project would be this succesful. It’s absolutely crazy to think that something i worked so hard on got such a great reaction from not only the band, but the entire crowd. Thank you to my AMAZING volunteers for making sure papers were passed around!! Without you guys, this project would not have been possible 🫶🏻
♬ original sound - Toronto Boygenius Fan Project