The tour dubbed The Summer Carnival featuring pop superstar Pink brought people in droves to Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I don’t have exact number of just how many people were in the stadium but from the stage Pink proclaimed that she had just broke the attendance record for Target Field. I believe the record was held by Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean when they played there in 2015 and around 44,000 people were at that show. Needless to say, this was a hot ticket and a highly anticipated show and Pink did nothing to disappoint the packed venue.

Perched high above the stage, sitting in a pair of red lips, Pink jumped off the ledge with bungee cords doing aerial acrobatics while fireworks shot off around the stage. It was a dazzling entrance as the party anthem “Get the Party Started” kicked off a night of endless hits with “Raise Your Glass” hitting second.

The set ran for over a hundred minutes and everything you can image was brought to life on stage. Massive pink flamingos Segways, mirror balls, massive lights, plenty of dancers, lots of costume changes with Pink wearing every type of jacket you can think of, lots of animation like dolphins and martini glasses. Add in a full band and background singers and the stage was a busy place that packed plenty of excitement throughout the night.

The show was brilliantly choreographed, from the dancers to the spectacular aerial moves Pink did on the the bungee cords. Nothing was left to chance as the production seemed to be executed flawlessly. Sometimes when you get to these types of shows, the human element of the show is lost, with so much going on and visual effects flooding your senses, the connection to the actual artist is never made. Pink didn’t let that happen, she managed to erase that barrier and presented herself in a very real and approachable way. She took time in-between the songs to talk to the crowd, in what felt like, a very intimate setting, you almost forgot you were in a baseball stadium. She talked about changing her outfits, loving her feathers when she wore her feather jacket, going school supply shopping and how she didn’t write love songs. There were so many moments where she connected with crowd on a very basic level and fans really hung on every word of every story she told.

Despite the party atmosphere, Pink, took time in the set to do some acoustic stuff where the biggest applause of the night happened. Her daughter Willow Sage Hart, age 12, took to the stage and sang “Cover Me in Sunshine” with her. Pink said “She wants to be a trauma surgeon, which makes sense as I’m very dramatic.” The night flew by quickly as Pink ran through “Who Knew,” “Just Like A Pill,” “Runaway” and one of my favorites “Just Like Fire” morphed into a rocking version of Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” as fire burst were let loose on the back of the stage.

If you thought her entrance was awesome, the exit was unforgettable. The closing song was “So What” and she flew around the stadium on a set of wires that took her all the way to the third level of the building. It was truly amazing to see it as she circled around Target Field doing summersaults while waving to the crowd. It capped a truly amazing performance and something that will be very tough to beat for artists planning on coming to Target Field.

Pink was not the only artist on the bill. We were truly blessed to have one of the most iconic and greatest voices in rock history, Pat Benatar, play before Pink. With her husband and guitarist, Neil Giraldo, the band kicked into some of the biggest classics in the rock genre. Wearing a Minnesota Twins jersey, Benatar kicked into “All Fired Up” which got the crowd pretty fired up. Her voice is so recognizable and still so powerful and I enjoyed every moment of the set. You can’t go wrong playing “Promises in the Dark,” “Invincible,” “We Belong,” “Hell is for Children,” “Love is a Battlefield,” and closing with “Heartbreaker” with a touch of “Ring of Fire” from Johnny Cash mixed in mid-song. It was 1979 when she dropped her debut album ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and the fact in 2023 a stadium full of people, both young and old, are singing along to every word is truly a testament to the longevity of her career and the music she has given us. 

Grouplove also performed. An indie pop/alternative rock band which formed in 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The band has two singers with Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper sharing lead vocals. The band released a new album this year with “I Want it All Right Now.” Three songs from the album “Cheese,” “Hello,” and Malachi” were played. The set opened with a the very up-beat tune called “Deleter.” It was short set but they were fun and did a good job getting people into the show and setting the table for the next artists to come.

Grouplove

Pat Benatar

Pink!