Crowds went wild on Sunday November 10 for Don Toliver’s Hardstone Psycho tour. Bringing the energy with pyrotechnics, a multi-level stage, and even a sphere with motorcycles; every single person was left in awe. Speechless at the pure chaos that was occurring, audience members continued to mosh and make pits to exert the energy that was exploding. Recently, this Hardstone Psycho tour has been receiving a lot of attention on social media for the insane theatricals that follow, with many people highly recommending buying tickets. The vocals and guitar playing was truly immaculate; the moment the guitar riff for Toliver’s most recent hit “Tore Up” began, the room filled with anticipation. The tour was announced to coincide with the release of the same titled album from June of 2024. 

Houston native, Caleb Zackery “Don” Toliver rose to stardom after releasing the debut mixtape “Donny Womack” in 2018. However, many fans recognize Toliver for the iconic feature verse on Travis Scott’s “Can’t Say” off of the award-winning album “Astroworld.” Growing up, Toliver was no stranger to the rap genre, as his father was a rapper in the early 2000s. Shaping a lot of the current releases known by audiences today. Toliver’s career truly skyrocketed with singles such as, “No Idea” and “After Party” going viral on TikTok and entering the Billboard Hot 100. These big hits allowed Toliver to gain a ton of attention and caused his debut album “Heaven or Hell,” in 2020, to peak on the top ten of the Billboard Hot 200.  Each album is completely different, some mixing R&B and soul, rock and alternative, hip-hop, trap, and most obvious, rap. Even noting specific influences such as Marvin Gaye, Lenny Kravitz, and The Isley Brothers. So far, Toliver has been featured on 29 singles, many of which reaching the top of the charts as well. Most of these collabs being with artists such as: Travis Scott, Metro Boomin, Justin Bieber, and Internet Money. All bringing Toliver to the 38 sold out show run that is the Hardstone Psycho tour. 

The Agganis Arena floor was filled with enthusiasm at the sight of the lights dimming and Molly Santana hitting the stage. Santana is a Japanese-American rapper and social media personality from Los Angeles. Both modern fashion influence and hairstyle changes caused the first significant online following for Santana. Following this social media influence, Santana released the debut mixtape “Neptune” in 2022, then released a second mixtape, “Mélange” in 2023. However, the song “Chain Swangin,” released in April 2024, became the breakout single that brought the most attention to Santana. Coming out with a bang, Santana proved to Boston that she was going to make the name Molly Santana known, and that was definitely accomplished. Multiple crowd members even chanting Santana to come back on-stage moments before Toliver’s debut. Following this act was second opener of the night: Ski Mask The Slump God. With influences such as Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and Lil Wayne, there is no surprise that everyone made mosh pits on the floor for Ski Mask as well. Practically growing up with fellow rapper XXXTentacion, the artist paid homage to the late rapper and other rappers who have passed such as Juice Wrld by performing the most popular hits from the respective discographies. Ski Mask collaborated with the two a lot because the trio was very close both inside and outside the studio. The audience obviously had no objections to the hits being added to the setlist, with everyone around singing every single word. A successful career for this artist began with producing music for the platform SoundCloud, as early as 2013. A debut mixtape was released in 2017 titled “You Will Regret,” having one of the highest charting Ski Mask songs, “Baby Wipe.”  Not only has Ski Mask had an incredible career already, but the distinctive sound of vocals and back tracks in his songs make the style so iconic in the rap world. Known for having extremely energetic performances, there was no disappointment there. Ski Slump danced around the stage hyping up the whole crowd to move and sing along. There was a true stage presence from both opening artists, two of which were great contributions to this tour. 

The main act, the pièce de resistance, Don Toliver hit the stage at 9:10pm. Introducing the show by stating, “And the story continues. Welcome to the Hardstone Psycho Tour!” The audience favorite “Kryptonite” started off the night strong, which emulates the popular Phil Collins hit, “In the Air Tonight” with a big Hardstone Psycho style. Out of nowhere, the second song of the night was the most hype song, as mentioned before, ‘Tore Up.” Surprised reactions came across every face in the crowd as this was expected to end the entire set. PLOT TWIST, ‘Tore up” was played a total of four times, twice at the beginning and twice at the end. All went absolutely wild, feral even, to experience this mosh pit. All survived the chaos. The community in the crowd was strong as Toliver played favorites from all albums: “Heaven or Hell” (2020), “Life of a Don” (2021), “Love Sick” (2023), and of course “Hardstone Psycho” (2024). The era of each album was usually introduced with a humorous anecdote. The flames and smoke engulfed the audience as it boomed from all angles, taking a simple Boston University arena, and making it into a rave, playing club favorites such as “New Drop” and “Too Many Nights.” Toliver decided to add songs that were only features, however, it was exactly what the crowd wanted. Though the songs aren’t owned by Toliver, they are debatably the tracks that make his voice most known. Over the past few years, the name Don Toliver has skyrocketed charts all over, which is insane, most notably because each album showcases a different sound through the blend of musical styles. The tour even has a “special guest” known as Psycho Sid who goes around the floor and takes pictures with audience members. As well as going on stage and hyping up the crowds, encouraging the pits. Psycho Sid has become a trademark energy enhancement, bringing the most insane concert experience through his dynamics. Eventually, the set list began to come to a close, however, Don Toliver would be dammed if there was no big finish. Not only did the show close out with the last two performances of “Tore Up” featuring Psycho Sid, Toliver brought out motorcyclists to perform stunts. During the song “Bandit,” Toliver brought out three motorcyclists to ride around the metal sphere that was placed in the center of the stage. Eyes widened as nobody had ever seen a concert with such stunts, the cyclists rode around at ample speeds to the tracks of the song. Mixed with all the pyrotechnics and the guitar playing, boredom didn’t even seem like a real concept. Booms, whooshes, and revving all echoed the arena walls with screams of lyrics. The night seemed unreal, there was so much excitement being exerted all in one place. The only two words that come to mind: worth it. 

Despite being heavily covered on social media, fans still didn’t know what to expect from this show. However, from the faces and reactions seen by those around, it was clear that everyone yearned for that excitement. Don Toliver has a stage presence that many may not realize, the attention to detail and experiences he adds are impeccable. If you get a chance to listen to his albums, do it. If you get a chance to go see him on tour, do it. Major disclaimer: get seat tickets if you don’t want to be trampled in a mosh pit. Then again, it is all part of the fun!