We’ve all had those moments where we have to remind ourselves why we fell in love with a passion in the first place. For me, following Coldplay on the Music of the Spheres world tour has been an incredible journey, but it also requires pacing. I have a strict rule for myself: the moment going to these shows starts to feel like a job or gets tedious, it is time to step back. Going to a Coldplay concert has always been a vacation for me, a place to completely lose myself in singing and dancing. When it stops feeling like that, I know I need to reset.
Because of that, I have started skipping certain nights when the band plays multiple shows in the same city. Friday night in Las Vegas was one of those gambles.
June 6th marked the exact 20th anniversary of X&Y, an album I have deeply loved since the day it dropped back in 2005. Even though I know the band has a complicated history with that record, it remains one of my absolute favorites. Choosing to skip the Friday show on the anniversary night was tough, but after following them since 2001, I had a feeling they would stick to the main setlist. These massive stadium shows are designed to give the general crowd the ultimate experience with the biggest hits, so changing the entire set for one night is rare.
Instead of heading to the stadium Friday, I decided to try something I don’t usually do: disconnect and get a massage.
A Surreal Friday Night Parallel
As fate would have it, the universe had a very strange evening planned for me anyway. Right after walking out of my massage, I randomly ran into Pato O’Ward, one of my favorite racing drivers. But right as I was standing there talking to him, my phone buzzed with an update from @ColdplayXtra.
There it was on my screen: the iconic X&Y Baudot Code album cover glowing on the stadium monitors pre-concert.
You can probably imagine my immediate panic. I was standing there trying to explain to an IndyCar driver that I might need to sprint to the stadium right that second. Once I walked away, I hurriedly texted a few friends at the stadium. They talked me down, assuring me the band was just acknowledging the anniversary visual and that the show was proceeding as normal. I breathed a sigh of relief and went on to enjoy my night off.
The Ultimate Full-Circle Moment
When Saturday arrived, I was refreshed and ready for the show. The atmosphere was incredible, and the stadium was filled with familiar faces. The real magic started the absolute second the doors opened.
As I walked into the venue, I immediately ran into Julia, Coldplay’s wonderful show caller. I had been sitting in the stands during the previous few shows, so I had missed seeing everyone down at the front of house. Julia looked at me surprised and told me she didn’t think I was coming that day, and had literally just been talking about me with Beth Fenton, backstage.
For anyone who does not know, Beth Fenton has been Coldplay’s costume designer since 2007. Hearing that she was actually at the stadium that night and wanted to meet me was a complete shock.
Meeting Beth was a profound, full-circle moment for me. Back in 2010, her brilliant wardrobe work during the Viva la Vida era was the exact reason I picked up sewing. I was completely fascinated by the concepts, the textures, and the sheer creativity of those iconic outfits. Because of her inspiration, I eventually built a textile studio in my home, which opened up a world of new skills for me, including machine embroidery and digitizing. To sit down and talk with someone I have looked up to for over a decade and a half was a massive honor.
Deconstructing the Moon Music Jacket
What made it even better was getting to discuss the Moon Music jacket I had spent so much time crafting.
When you are trying to replicate Chris Martin’s stage wardrobe, you are usually relying on fleeting glances from stadium seats or blurry photos from the floor. Getting the tiny details right is incredibly difficult. I always do my absolute best to reverse-engineer the designs, but you never really know how close you are. And being a perfectionist, and someone who doesn’t take shortcuts, means I’m often working on specific designs for weeks before I am somewhat happy with it.
According to Beth, I actually nailed almost everything. She was genuinely stunned that I had figured out some of the specific construction processes and design placements with total accuracy. She even took photos of my jacket to share with the rest of the team who worked on the official wardrobe.
There was only one detail I missed, which Beth helped correct on the spot. It couldn’t have been corrected without her generosity and kindness.
Hearing those words of validation from the master herself was incredibly motivating. I walked away into the crowd with a permanent smile on my face. The entire concert felt different after that. My night, and honestly my whole year, was completely made.
It is easy to get caught up in the scale of a massive world tour, but Saturday night reminded me that the heart of this community is shaped by the incredibly kind, brilliant people behind the scenes like Julia and Beth. Oh and thanks to my super creative friend Gretchen, who let me wear her light up Coldplay headpiece for the photo, which she later appeared wearing on the band’s Instagram after this show.
