The Problem with Openers: The petition against Dora Jar opening for Gracie Abrams

As anyone who has been to a concert will know, the most tedious element of the show is the few hours of waiting before your favourite artist takes the stage. Traditionally, these hours have been broken up by an opening act – or opener – who performs while distracting the audience from the fact that they are not who they paid to see.

The opener is usually a lesser-known artist who knows full well that the audience is not there for them, and so they do their best to entertain and stand out in order to boost their popularity with another artist’s fandom.

Most audience members accept the existence of the opener, and knowing that you may have to sit through an hour of music that you may not ordinarily listen to is a staple of concert-going. If you don’t enjoy the opener, it shouldn’t matter as they weren’t who you paid to see anyway.

Taylor Swift’s selection of superstar openers has seemingly led to a cultural shift in the understanding of what an opener should be

However, when Gracie Abrams announced that the European leg of her Secret of Us tour would include bedroom pop artist Dora Jar as an opener, there was a small uproar from a selection of Abrams’ fans. One particularly perturbed fan created a petition to remove Jar as the opener, stating that they and others were “perplexed as we do not recognise [Dora Jar] and with less than two weeks till the tour, it’s virtually impossible to familiarise ourselves with her slow-paced songs.”. They go on to suggest that Jar should instead be replaced by “a more well-known, energetic artist or band”.

The proposal that the opener should be a “more well-known” artist has led many to believe that this petition is the result of the alteration of the public’s perception of openers caused by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The Eras Tour was a massive cultural phenomenon, lasting from March 2023 to December 2024 and spanning 19 countries, and by the time it ended, it had become the highest-grossing tour of all time. Swift had over 10 openers – including Gracie Abrams – during the run of her world tour, many of whom were already established, popular artists with large fanbases and millions of Spotify listeners. Notable examples are Paramore, Sabrina Carpenter, Beabadoobee, and Phoebe Bridgers, who were all part of the lineup of openers for Swift’s world tour and who all have over 10 million monthly Spotify listeners.

Swift’s selection of superstar openers has seemingly led to a cultural shift in the understanding of what an opener should be, with people forgetting that one of the main reasons artists take on the role of the opening act is to increase their own platform – there is no requirement for an opener to be famous already. Openers do not expect the audience to be familiar with their songs, and although many people believe the best aspect of a concert is singing along to songs you know, it appears that the sentiment of simply appreciating live music has been lost. Indeed, the main function of a concert is to listen to live music, and you do not need to already know the music being played in order to enjoy it.

Openers do not fundamentally need to be famous artists, but the creator of this petition and those who signed it seem to expect them to be

Many artists who are now mainstream began as openers for other artists. 5 Seconds of Summer grew in popularity in the 2010s after opening for One Direction, while Chappell Roan’s sudden rise to fame in early 2024 was heavily aided by her opening for Olivia Rodrigo on the GUTS tour during the same period. Without the opportunity to open for larger artists, those like 5SOS and Roan would struggle to reach the heights they could get to with the right spotlight.

Openers do not fundamentally need to be famous artists, but the creator of this petition and those who signed it seem to expect them to be. This entitlement is a mere symptom of excessive consumption of internet culture, with the petition showing just how hurtful people can be when they can hide behind anonymity.

Although Jar responded to the petition on X by stating, “Hate comes with the job”, Abrams expressed frustration towards the petition through an Instagram comment, remarking that it was “so wildly uncool and bizarre and also just does not remotely add up. I’ve only seen everyone’s total excitement and I couldn’t be luckier or prouder to share a stage with this talented wonder. Stream everything she’s ever made, whether or not you’re coming to the show. Dora forever and ever.”

Has the meaning of what an opener should be permanently altered? The Eras Tour was an anomaly of a concert, with a huge budget and huge openers. Its nearly two-year-long dominance over social media impacted the way that people perceive concerts and openers, as made evident through the calls to remove Dora Jar as Gracie Abrams’ opening act. People are now demanding mainstream artists as openers, which goes against the original concept of what an opener ought to be. Being an opening act is an opportunity for smaller artists to increase their platform, and it should remain that way. After all, if the opening act was always an already established artist, we would be denied the talents of promising new artists.