Seeing YUNGBLUD’s sold-out show Friday at the Greek Theater made me realize how important family, community, and human connection really are.
That feeling started when the opening band, The Warning, came out and instantly caught my attention. At first, they just seemed unbelievably in sync. Every drumbeat, every guitar riff, every pause felt perfectly timed down to the millisecond, yet somehow effortless at the same time. I couldn’t figure out why until Daniella Villarreal introduced herself along with the other members, Paulina and Alejandra, and I realized they were sisters.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
They’ve been performing together for over 13 years, starting as a small cover band from Monterrey, Mexico, after their cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” went viral. Now they’re touring arenas around the world. Watching them felt like watching a sibling connection come to life. They were peaceful yet chaotic, intense yet completely connected. And honestly, that’s what siblings are. There’s arguing, forgiveness, chaos, and love all mixed together. Every loud drumbeat almost felt symbolic, like every past argument floating away into the air while they created something beautiful together.
It only felt fitting that my older brother was there with me.
As the loud rock music filled the arena, I started noticing something quieter underneath it all. As I looked around, I realized how many families were there together. Parents with kids, siblings, friends with their arms around each other. For a generation constantly glued to phones, this felt different. This was the only concert I’ve been to where I saw more people cheering together than on their phones recording. People crave real community now more than ever. Everyone was actually living in the moment instead of watching it through a screen. Music was bringing people together in real life.
Then it was finally time for YUNGBLUD to come out.
Before he even stepped on stage, the word “hello” appeared across the screens in multiple languages. It instantly made the entire arena feel welcoming, like no matter what your background, everyone belonged there that night. We were all there for the same reason: to let go for a few hours and just feel alive while jamming out to some rock n roll.
Then, suddenly, confetti exploded through the crowd.
It felt like all of our worries were being thrown into the air alongside it. For a second, nothing else mattered besides just being there in the moment.
And once he hit the stage, the energy completely exploded.
Besides making amazing music, he is one heck of a performer. At one point, he randomly jumped off the stage and started climbing the arena handrails while yelling, “ARE YOU MOTHERF***ERS READY?!” The crowd went insane, everyone cheering, some even holding their breaths… Hoping he didn’t fall. Eventually, he ended up standing on a chair in the middle of the crowd, continuing to scream. From that moment on, I knew this concert was going to be unlike anything else.
When he started performing “Lowlife,” the entire arena loosened up even more. Everyone screamed the “La-La-La” lyrics together, and for the first time, I fully looked around the crowd and realized there wasn’t a single empty seat in the place. I really tried to find one for a good minute, but I couldn’t. Thousands of people from all over Los Angeles had come together for this moment.
One of the most emotional moments of the night came when YUNGBLUD dedicated Black Sabbath’s “Changes” to his late mentor and friend, Ozzy Osbourne. Before starting the song, he told us we needed to sing loud enough for Ozzy to hear us from heaven, especially because Ozzy’s family was in the audience. As soon as the crowd heard this, they instantly understood the assignment. This is one of my favorite songs, so I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Everyone sang together like one giant family. You could hear the raw emotion in YUNGBLUD’s voice during that performance, and honestly, it gave me chills.
Of course, in true YUNGBLUD fashion, he made the crowd stick out their tongues. My brother and I doing that together reminded me of when we were little kids. YUNGBLUD even started calling out people who refused to do it, projecting them on the giant screen until they finally gave in. The entire arena was dying laughing. At one point, the cameraman showed this one kid absolutely rocking out with his tongue out, throwing devil horns, and headbanging so hard that it caught YUNGBLUD’s attention enough that he not only brought him on stage, but he put him on his shoulders. I’ve never seen an artist interact with fans so personally before.
But beyond the chaos and fun, what made this concert really special during Mental Health Awareness Month was how openly YUNGBLUD talked about mental health.
When he performed “The Funeral” and the crowd screamed, “I hate myself, but that’s alright,” it didn’t feel hopeless. It felt real. YUNGBLUD has always been open about his own struggles with intrusive thoughts and insecurity, and instead of pretending those feelings don’t exist, he talks about learning how to live alongside them without letting them completely take over his life. I think that honesty matters a lot right now because social media makes it seem like everyone else has everything figured out when they really don’t. He serves as a reminder that even successful artists struggle with their mental health.
He constantly reminds fans that they are not alone, and he backs those words up with action. He has worked with organizations like Mind, where he pledged to donate £1 (up to £25,000) split between Mind and Sound Mind Live for every use of the “Breakdown” CapCut/TikTok template. He continues encouraging open conversations about mental health instead of avoiding them.
One of my favorite moments of the entire night was when he told everyone to turn to the strangers next to them and say, “Hello motherf***er,” and then, “I love you.” It sounds ridiculous, but in that moment, it actually felt genuine. For a few seconds, thousands of strangers became one giant family.
The concert ended with “Zombie,” a song inspired by watching his grandmother struggle with alcoholism and slowly losing herself. The song captures something so many people are scared to admit: the fear of becoming a burden, the fear of appearing weak, and the universal feeling that you have to go through your darkest moments alone. But standing in that crowd, surrounded by thousands of other people screaming those lyrics together, I didn’t feel alone at all.
That’s what made this concert so powerful to me.
In a world where social media usually only shows people’s happiest moments, YUNGBLUD doesn’t run away from the darker emotions. He dives directly into them. He talks about grief, insecurity, loneliness, anxiety, and self-hatred openly instead of hiding them. And I think that’s exactly why so many people connect with him so deeply.
By the end of the night, there had been screaming, laughing, crying, and complete chaos. But more importantly, I walked away realizing something I think a lot of people need to hear during Mental Health Awareness Month:
No matter how alone you feel sometimes, you never truly are.
Hit Parader #1: Yungblud Edition
October 2025 — $12.99
