Hand-wringing and histrionically complaining about the quality of music for younger audiences has become a generational rite of passage, but if Laufey‘s arena-conquering A Matter of Time Tour is anything to go by, late Gen Z and Gen Alpha have stars of their own who are proudly carrying the jazz and vocal pop mantles into a new era of Top 40.
Commencing on Sept. 15 at Orlando’s Kia Center, Laufey’s latest trek touched down at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 26 and will visit major cities across the U.S. and Europe before concluding on March 15, 2026, at Kórinn Arena in her home country of Iceland. The tour is in support of her A Matter of Time album, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and topped both Jazz Albums and Independent Albums. After her last LP, Bewitched, won her a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album and spawned an unlikely hit single in “From the Start,” Laufey was tasked with scaling up her vision and output to match her ever-widening audience. To bring it all to life onstage, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter fashioned her latest LP’s particularly hooky songs into a wholly entertaining five-act presentation.
Armed with a whimsical set design consisting of a castle ballroom mainstage, a smaller second stage shaped like a clock, a makeshift jazz club, Juliette balconies, orchestra risers and a rotating structure atop the “clock’s” hands, Laufey’s A Matter of Time Tour immediately greeted fans with a visual feast. As she tore through a setlist mainly comprised of A Matter of Time tracks and past discography highlights, Laufey delivered pitch-perfect vocals, expansive arrangements tailor-made for an arena environment and several heart-warming moments of banter that underscored her nearly incomprehensible status as a 26-year-old jazz-pop star.
In addition to her own setlist — which oscillated between soaring piano-led ballads (“Goddess”) and adorable choreography (“Tough Luck”) — Laufey also treated her Thursday night (Oct. 16) Madison Square Garden crowd to two special guests: Lin-Manuel Miranda and PinkPantheress. With the former treating the musical theatre aficionados and the latter pleasing the edgier fringes of the TikTok crowd, both guests helped Laufey flaunt her marvelous range, both musically and aesthetically.
Here are the five best moments from the second Madison Square Garden night of Laufey’s A Matter of Time Tour.
Suki Waterhouse Serves Ethereal Opening Set
Trending on Billboard
if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) {
pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() {
pmcCnx({
settings: {
plugins: {
pmcAtlasMG: {
iabPlcmt: 2,
}
}
},
playerId: ‘4057afa6-846b-4276-bc63-a9cf3a8aa1ed’,
playlistId: ‘b7dab6e5-7a62-4df1-b1f4-3cfa99eea709’,
}).render(“connatix_contextual_player_div”);
});
} else {
// This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it’s event time.
window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer();
}
After giving birth to her first child with fiancé Robert Pattinson at the top of last year, Suki Waterhouse quickly returned to the stage. On Thursday night, the English singer-songwriter and actress delivered a perfectly woodsy opener that played into the same whimsy Laufey employed throughout her own headlining set. On a physical set peppered with faux greenery — and the dramatic red curtains that introduce Laufey’s set — Waterhouse tore through cuts like “Gateway Drug” and “Johanna” before concluding with “Good Looking,” an irresistible sing-along that peaked at No. 14 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Lukas Gage (Kinda) Makes Surprise Cameo
Trending on Billboard
if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) {
pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() {
pmcCnx({
settings: {
plugins: {
pmcAtlasMG: {
iabPlcmt: 2,
}
}
},
playerId: ‘4057afa6-846b-4276-bc63-a9cf3a8aa1ed’,
playlistId: ‘b7dab6e5-7a62-4df1-b1f4-3cfa99eea709’,
}).render(“connatix_contextual_player_div”);
});
} else {
// This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it’s event time.
window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer();
}
To open the fourth act, Laufey performed “Mr. Eclectic” while flaunting physical copies of Lukas Gage’s new I Wrote This for Attention memoir. Gage, who has starred in The White Lotus and Smile 2, was in the crowd on Thursday night, and, for those who were able to make out the book’s cover, his memoir shoutout was a cheeky moment.
Welcome to Laufey’s Jazz Club
Trending on Billboard
if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) {
pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() {
pmcCnx({
settings: {
plugins: {
pmcAtlasMG: {
iabPlcmt: 2,
}
}
},
playerId: ‘4057afa6-846b-4276-bc63-a9cf3a8aa1ed’,
playlistId: ‘b7dab6e5-7a62-4df1-b1f4-3cfa99eea709’,
}).render(“connatix_contextual_player_div”);
});
} else {
// This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it’s event time.
window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer();
}
A major challenge with arena shows — especially for an artist graduating from clubs and concert halls — is establishing and maintaining a sense of intimacy, no matter how fleeting. From her first all-arena trek, Laufey leaned into the innate intimacy of the physical locales that ground the jazz tradition. Surrounded by a drummer, upright bassist and pianist, Laufey delivered a thrilling jazz club-set second act, which she kicked off with a cover of the timeless standard “Seems Like Old Times.” The true highlight of this section, however, was “Fragile,” which allowed Laufey to truly reimagine the song’s arrangement and flaunt her emotive skills in the process.
PinkPantheress Brings Some ‘Illegal’ Activity
Trending on Billboard
if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) {
pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() {
pmcCnx({
settings: {
plugins: {
pmcAtlasMG: {
iabPlcmt: 2,
}
}
},
playerId: ‘4057afa6-846b-4276-bc63-a9cf3a8aa1ed’,
playlistId: ‘b7dab6e5-7a62-4df1-b1f4-3cfa99eea709’,
}).render(“connatix_contextual_player_div”);
});
} else {
// This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it’s event time.
window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer();
}
Last week, PinkPantheress dropped her star-studded Fancy Some More? remix album, and she’s kept her foot firmly planted on the gas. At the top of the second half of the show, after shouting out her hand-picked “best dressed” winner, Laufey teased an additional victor. In actuality, she was teasing her second guest of the night, British singer-songwriter and producer Pinkpantheress. The two TikTok-approved stars dazzled the arena with a slightly slower arrangement of Pinkpantheress’ “Illegal,” a breakout Fancy That hit that reached No. 96 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on Hot Dance/Pop Songs. Although the worlds of jazz and garage couldn’t feel more disparate, the duo’s surprise duet made the two styles feel like close siblings.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ’10 Years of Hamilton’ Celebration Continues
Trending on Billboard
if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) {
pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() {
pmcCnx({
settings: {
plugins: {
pmcAtlasMG: {
iabPlcmt: 2,
}
}
},
playerId: ‘4057afa6-846b-4276-bc63-a9cf3a8aa1ed’,
playlistId: ‘b7dab6e5-7a62-4df1-b1f4-3cfa99eea709’,
}).render(“connatix_contextual_player_div”);
});
} else {
// This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it’s event time.
window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer();
}
Somehow, a decade has passed since Hamilton first graced New York City’s Public Theater, and Lin-Manuel Miranda has spent the year honoring the legacy of his iconic, Tony-winning musical. As if a special Tony Awards performance wasn’t enough, Miranda sauntered onstage as Laufey’s first surprise guest on her second NYC show. Laufey, who tried her hardest to contain her excitement, and Miranda delivered a gorgeous rendition of “Best of Wives and Best of Women,” with their complementary grins visible from the rafters. In a slick nod to the title of Laufey’s latest album and tour — and the shared alchemy of jazz and musical theatre — Miranda finished with this lyric from “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”: “It’s only a matter of… time.”
Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox