That Time I met…

Robyn

I can’t overstate the importance of Robyn in my musical life. She gave me some much needed relief in the wake of Amy Winehouse’s death and helped me to process so many times– good and bad- throughout my 20’s. And that’s what I told her when I met her. Here’s how it happened…

My Robyn fandom began in the early 2010’s. A coworker of mine played the hell out of Body Talk in the store that we worked at together, and I instantly took to her referential 80’s synthesized sound with such unspeakably raw emotion. I jumped at every opportunity to see her perform from there, starting with a few random award show gigs, TV show appearances and some spots that she got opening for more commercially successful acts (Coldplay and Katy Perry). It’s like she never got her due credit, but music artists chose her again and again to tour with them because they knew her value and wide appeal. Evidently, Madonna brought her on for a leg of one of her tours before I was a part of the Robyn universe.

And then she went away. Aside from a few collaborative projects in the years following her 2011 Body Talk tour, she all but disappeared for eight long years. It wasn’t uncommon for me to randomly google her name as the years went on, eager for even the slightest peep of new music. There was nothing. It hurt. I felt abandoned. I wanted to dance and cry and FEEL like I only had at her concerts before.

And then, the clouds opened up. She dropped an early demo of her song “Honey” in an episode of Girls. It would be another year and a half before the song was properly released, but after so much time, just knowing new Robyn was coming was enough to sustain me until her inevitable comeback tour hit.

And then it did. The Honey tour was announced for early 2019. She was scheduled to play two shows at the Hollywood Palladium, which is ridiculously close to where I live. I opted for a meet & greet package, which I later found out to be an error. The “VIP experience” just came with a lanyard, early access and a commemorative gift. I was furious, and desperate to find some other way to meet her. With the days off work, I showed up embarrassingly early to “camp” out for the show. I ran into some friends who I had met way, way back in 2011 at my first Robyn gig. One of them had since gotten wildly famous on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and the other looked just as edgy and badass as I remembered her. I struck up a conversation and said “there’s no way you’ll remember me, but when I was just 20 I met you guys waiting for Robyn at the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and remember how nice you guys were to me. I was there by myself and I never forgot that.” They let me stick with them, and the three of us ended up front and center for both nights of the tour.

The shows were pristine. She was so articulate and controlled. She gave so much love, and you could feel her gratitude that we showed up in droves so many years later. It really felt like a homecoming. Evidently it was a hit with a ton of musicians who attended, like Betty Who, Charli XCX and even Adele. She’s an artist for artists, and people constantly credit her work for their inspiration.

I waited outside in the icy wind with the guy I went with and a few stragglers who held posters and LPs for her to sign. I didn’t want any signatures, and I would’ve accepted if she didn’t allow any pictures. I just wanted that interaction. I wanted to connect with her and tell her what she meant to me after so many years.

After what felt like an eternity of watching her tour staff unload set pieces and sound equipment, she finally showed up, her hair looking freshly washed and still a bit wet wearing a brown coat and some of the track pants that she designed with Opening Ceremony. She patiently met with each group. I waited until last. I gave her my spiel, and she told me “that’s really sweet. Thank you for telling me that.” She gave me a sweet hug and we posed for several pictures. I walked away a little shaky, but feeling proud, accomplished and serene. My social media friends validated the experience. They knew what it meant to me. I didn’t cry about it until the next day and a few times after that, but it was one of the happiest experiences of my life.