It was a 00XO party in the desert. The Weeknd kicked off his 2025 After Hours Til Dawn Tour on a balmy Friday night (May 9) with Playboi Carti at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The “Timeless” collaborators, alongside Mike Dean, are set to invade stadiums across North America throughout the summer, and it could be the singer’s final trek under his The Weeknd stage alias.
Glendale had the honor of batting lead-off on Friday before the tour takes a two-week break, which could be tied to Abel’s Hurry Up Tomorrow film arriving next week.
Playboi Carti isn’t your average tour opener, and King Vamp brought his star power to the stage at 8 p.m. PT. Carti ended up running through a tight 15-track set in about 45 minutes. The Atlanta native said it was his first time back in the Phoenix area since 2015, and he told the crowd it “feels good to be home.”
The “Magnolia” rapper was very engaged throughout the set and wasn’t shy about showing his appreciation for being on a stadium tour compared to his typical mysterious self. He’d come back for seconds during The Weeknd’s set to perform collabs like “Rather Lie” and “Timeless.”
The main event kicked off when Abel appeared flanked by red-hooded dancers with a haunting entrance just shy of 9:30 p.m. PT. Rocking a black Christian cordella with golden glitter splattered across, a masked Weeknd sent the sold-out State Farm Stadium into a frenzy with “The Abyss.”
“The first night’s always the best night,” the Canadian hitmaker said, much to the delight of the XO faithful. The stage boasts burning buildings around the city, which mirrors his 2022 tour, then the catwalk extends to a giant Sorayama statue that could double as a sexy Golden Globe Award. Side stages featuring neon-lit oval rings make Abel look like he’s performing in a clear tunnel during portions of the show.
Proving he’s still one of the 21st century’s premier live acts, Abel bounced around much of his decorated discography, outside of Kiss Land, while keeping the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout the two-hour set, which consisted of 37 tracks in total to feed even the most starved XO fan’s appetite.
Here’s every song that Playboi Carti and The Weeknd performed on night one of the 2025 After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Arizona.
