Philadelphia, PA – I’ve photographed over 500 artists since 2021. I say that not to brag but to establish baseline: I am not easily shocked, moved or left speechless.
Empire of the Sun did all of the above in one show.
The Mann Center has hosted John Williams. Yes, the John Williams. The Star Wars guy. Katy Perry. Aretha Franklin’s final Philadelphia show. Babymetal. And hundreds of other established household names that you’d talk about at the dinner table. None of them brought what Empire of the Sun brought on this tour. That’s not hyperbole – it’s just true, and I watched it happen.
This is the final leg of the Ask That God: Afterlife Tour and a crowning achievement for the band as they expanded back into larger venues once again. Nineteen songs. A set that sprawled across their whole catalog and somehow felt intentionally curated but also free flowing the entire way through the night. “Cherry Blossom” early on hit like a red-washed fever dream – costume changes, dancers, an LED backdrop washed the venue in color. This same LED set up took the crowd from rainforest to deep space and back without ever breaking the spell during the night. Luke Steele is one of those rare frontmen who actually commands a stage rather than just occupying it – guitars, outfit changes, and at one point a disco ball display I genuinely have no reference point for other than it involved humans in a fractal display. I’ve never seen anything like it. You’d expect the peaks to come when they always do – “Half Mast,” “High Low,” “Walking on a Dream” – and they did. But this band’s fans span generations now, each with their own entry point, and Steele seemed to understand that. Every corner of that catalog belonged to someone in that crowd.
The crowd (as a whole) kept their phones down at a concert in 2026. That alone tells you everything you need to know about this band, their shows and this particular tour.
When something crosses from performance into art, objective language stops working. All I can tell you is that 10,000 people gathered on a Saturday night in Philadelphia and left changed. See them on the biggest stage you can find – Empire of the Sun is meant to be experienced in person.
