Florence and the Machine ft. Sofia Isella in Boston 4/20

April 21, 2026

My husband and I have been like "Oh damn, we're going to a lot of shows lately. Maybe we should calm it down a little." And then I saw that Florence's Sunday showed got moved to Marathon Monday because TD Garden needed to do sports. Marathon Monday is probably the worst day of the year to try to extend/reschedule your plans if you are out of town. I am not out of town. A block of balcony tickets dropped to $64 the morning of the show. Florence for the first time on a budget? Let's do it.

Venue

I erroneously thought I hadn't been to TD Garden before, but was reminded that I went to see Simone Biles' gymnastics tour one year. Yes, as an adult. I was deep into my Zoloft Does Not Agree With Me phase at the time and don't remember much. It also wasn't music, so it only half counts.

The venue is Just Ok, honestly. The view from the rafters seems atrocious and the view from our balcony section was kind of mid. It was a great time for what we paid. The seats a row ahead of us were still selling for $170 even after doors opened and I would not have been happy at that price. Everyone in front of us wanted to stand, which I do not begrudge anyone for, but the balcony has so little foot room that I almost passed out during the last song and needed to sit down. That's new for me! Fun! In the future I would want to be on the floor or first row of the balcony. LOGE seating or maybe even the head-on balcony sections may also be worth a try.

Sound was good! Florence could probably sing to me through a tin-can and it would sound like angels. I could really clearly hear the few people around me singing so I did not do my usual half-correct interpretation of lyrics. A woman after the show told her friend that her "ears weren't ringing, so it wasn't too loud". I am begging you to wear ear plugs to shows.

Also, a slice of pizza inside North Station (the train station attached to TD Garden) was $5. We performed our longstanding ritual of my husband eating a delicious-looking slice in front of me while I feel like I look like an eating disorder girly to everyone. After we walked about 20 feet and entered the venue pizza slices suddenly became $15. FLORENCE ON A BUDGET. Nailed it.

The Show

Sofia Isella

My husband really wanted to see Sofia play at Boston Calling last year. I didn't want to get there that early. I owed him this.

She's talented and I appreciate her message. I also find her schtick exhausting and unfortunately couldn't understand a word she was saying, even when she was speaking. I think she'd really benefit from playing with a live band and that it would help elevate her set from "weird art kid (derogatory)" to "weird art kid but okay we're vibing".

Florence and the Machine

Setlist

Everybody Scream
Witch Dance
Shake It Out
Seven Devils
Big God
Daffodil
Which Witch
Cosmic Love
Spectrum
Never Let Me Go
Perfume and Milk
Buckle
King
The Old Religion
Howl
Heaven Is Here
Sympathy Magic
One of the Greats
Dog Days Are Over
Free
And Love

Impression

I remember when Dog Days Are Over came out and I had it on repeat for DAYs. I dip in and out of her discography and actually hadn't listened to her new album until Monday morning. I was concerned I wasn't going to have a good time because I didn't know the songs. I was also concerned that after my experience seeing Hayley Williams and not feeling like it hit emotionally that Florence wouldn't "fill" a space as big as TD Garden for me.

I was wrong! I'm not sure how she made it feel more intimate than much smaller shows that I've been to, but she truly did. She really knows how to connect to an audience. It was very cute to watch her flip back and forth from her singing headspace where she's very confident and commanding to talking to the crowd, where she seemed like just a woman who was deeply flattered and maybe a little overwhelmed by the love she was getting.

And obviously she can sing. You know she can sing, right?

She struck a good balance in the show between preserving her voice and hitting the iconic parts. I also think she's had some, like, performance movement training. I don't know what it's called. It's not quite choreo but being visually interesting while you are standing and singing is a skill that you can train. Florence definitely has.

I think we both came out of the show liking her even more and I'd love to go see her again. Her combination of talent and warmth is really an experience.

Late edit, but I was most excited for/hoping she'd play Cosmic Love. She did!