PORTALS Tour

PORTALS Tour
Main artist	Melanie Martinez
Opening artist	Tanukichan (NA Leg) UPSAHL (EU Leg) Sofia Isella (Mexico shows)
Associated album	PORTALS
Start date	May 30, 2023
End date	February 6, 2024
Number of shows	61
Tour chronology
Previous tour	CAN'T WAIT TILL I'M OUT OF K-12
Previous tour	CAN'T WAIT TILL I'M OUT OF K-12
Following tour	The Trilogy Tour
Following tour	The Trilogy Tour

The PORTALS Tour is Melanie Martinez's fourth international tour that began on May 30, 2023 and concluded on February 6, 2024.

Stage design and development

The head of the moth portal being created

The PORTALS Tour stage has a giant moth portal, intended as a showcase of Melanie's universe created for the PORTALS album.

The vines that encompass the stage

The spider web used during "SPIDER WEB".

Nature elements can be seen all around the stage during the concert, with vines, giant inflatable mushrooms, a spider web, a leech seat, and the band's risers being modeled after mossy rocks. The performance heavily relies on video visuals created by Normal Studios in Montréal.

Early rehearsals for the tour, taking place in a warehouse

The tour itself had been in development for months, dating back to 2022. Melanie opted to work with Fuse Technical Group for all the stage lighting, who had previously worked with her on the K-12 Tour. One of the tour's lighting programmers, Paul Guthrie said in an interview about the tour:

We all met at the end of last year to discuss the tour. Right from the beginning, Melanie had an incredible creative set of ideas; our guide was to listen and guide them into something we could take on the road.

They wanted to completely shift into this new Portals character, so we got to develop a fantasy world for that to exist. The design evolved over several months. Certain ambitious ideas were initially discussed but much of the pre-production process involved balancing feasibility and deployability. I always knew that the video content would be a strong element to create or extend the environment and we had fun adding the other pieces to fill it out.

Getting into the creature had been a challenge for Melanie. Guthrie also says:

The tour's makeup artist, Laurel Charleston doing makeup on the creature mask

Most challenging for Martinez was the mask she wears onstage. I'm amazed to see how the artist could wear something so complex yet still sing, hear, dance, move, and breathe—another example of commitment to their art. The mask gives me a signature character to light onstage, as well as the ability to use color and textures that you might not usually use on an artist's face or skin.

For development of the props and stage themselves, a few companies helped.

• Sew What? created all the soft cloth props, like the moth portal, vines, and spider web.
• Centerline Scenery created the hard sculpture props, like the leech chair and band risers.
• Inflatable Design Group created the giant inflatable mushroom clusters.
• Strictly FX created the lasers and butterfly-shaped confetti.

Melanie's vision was favored for all the props. Guthrie explains:

The album cover art was revealed after we had everything in place, so we had already established the nature/fantasy elements of the set and visuals. It was great to always have somethin going on throughout the show.
Melanie would send me AI renderings of environments or textures that we used to create the set or guide the scenic treatments; designing inflatable mushrooms and a giant leech stool was fun. Megan Duckett at Sew What? was a great collaborator, using her artistic superpowers to give us some amazing soft goods and scenic pieces like the moth portal, hanging vines, and spider web.

Concert synopsis

Melanie opens the show with a monologue, which transitions directly into "DEATH". The monologue is as follows:

Hello Earthlings! It's me, Cry Baby. I know you can't see me, but I'm still here. Wanna know a secret? There is a space of me to an angel...
Look into the light and repeat after me:
"Our energy can't be destroyed. We find the light within our void. We've been here before, we can do it again. The evolution will never end. We are protected, we are immortal. And tonight, we step into the portal."

The laser portal at the start of the concert

A laser portal opens into the crowd at the end of the monologue, and Melanie walks onto the stage to perform the entire set of PORTALS. Melanie, for all dates, has dressed up as The Creature, in different custom outfits, wigs, and makeup looks each night.

The concert consists of all dance performances based on the story of each individual song, excluding "LIGHT SHOWER", "LEECHES", "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX", and "POWDER".

"VOID" and "TUNNEL VISION"'s choreographies heavily differ from their music videos. "VOID" is a full dance routine including Melanie and all 4 dancers, and "TUNNEL VISION" has Melanie singing with 2 dancers in the background acting out an abusive relationship.

Melanie performing "LIGHT SHOWER" on the giant leech chair

Stage props have been incorporated into "FAERIE SOIRÉE", "LIGHT SHOWER" and" SPIDER WEB".

• For "FAERIE SOIRÉE", giant inflatable light-up mushrooms appear on the sides of the stage. This is the only prop that remains on stage for the rest of the concert.
• For "LIGHT SHOWER", Melanie sings while sitting on a giant leech (originally intended for "LEECHES"). This prop is not used during Asia/Oceania performances as it is expensive to import things to those continents. So instead, Melanie just stood up for the performances.
• For "SPIDER WEB", the performance includes a giant spider web that is set up by the dancers.

Melanie throwing mushrooms during NYMPHOLOGY.

For "NYMPHOLOGY", Melanie gives a shoutout to the dancers and band members. They, along with the dancers, throw mushrooms out into the crowd created by The Felt Pod. They can be bought here.

At the end of "WOMB", Melanie thanks the crowd and exits the stage, while pink butterfly-shaped confetti gets launched out into the crowd. She comes back on stage to perform the encore, doing either:

• The remaining 3 PORTALS songs ("POWDER", "PLUTO", "MILK OF THE SIREN")
• 3 select songs from Cry Baby or K-12 and "MILK OF THE SIREN"

For the ending to "MILK OF THE SIREN", Melanie's dancers wave flags in support of certain countries and/or groups.
*Denver and Sandy did not have any flags. For these shows, the dancers performed the original choreography where they all "die" at the end.

• LGBTQIA+ pride flags
  • Transgender pride flag
  • Inclusive pride & BIPOC flag
  • Lesbian pride flag
  • Pansexual pride flag
  • A fan's PORTALS pride flag
  • Mexico pride flag
• Ukraine flag
• Palestine flag
• Republic of Ireland Flag

At the end of the concert, Melanie thanks the crowd one last time, tells everybody to get home safe, and all the performers exit the stage.

Setlist

• NA & EU leg
• AS & AUS Leg

During this leg, the setlist strictly included songs only from PORTALS (Deluxe) in order. Band interludes were incorporated in between certain songs for prop setups.

1. Opening monologue intro
2. "DEATH"
3. "VOID"
4. Band interlude (piano version of "TUNNEL VISION")
5. "TUNNEL VISION"
6. "FAERIE SOIRÉE"
7. Band interlude (guitar version/theremin version of "FAERIE SOIRÉE"'s outro)
8. "LIGHT SHOWER"
9. Band interlude (piano version of "SPIDER WEB")
10. "SPIDER WEB"
11. Band interlude (guitar/piano instrumental inspired by "LEECHES")
12. "LEECHES"
13. "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX"
14. "THE CONTORTIONIST"
15. "MOON CYCLE"
16. "NYMPHOLOGY"
17. "EVIL"
18. "WOMB"

Encore

1. Encore interlude (instrumental inspired by "POWDER")
2. "POWDER"
3. "PLUTO"
4. "MILK OF THE SIREN"

Starting from this leg onwards, the encore for the setlist was modified to include songs from Cry Baby and K-12. Each date received a different encore set.

1. Opening monologue intro
2. "DEATH"
3. "VOID"
4. Band interlude (piano version of "TUNNEL VISION")
5. "TUNNEL VISION"
6. "FAERIE SOIRÉE"
7. Band interlude (guitar version of "FAERIE SOIRÉE"'s outro)
8. "LIGHT SHOWER"
9. Band interlude (piano version of "SPIDER WEB")
10. "SPIDER WEB"
11. Band interlude (piano version of "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX")
12. "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX"
13. "THE CONTORTIONIST"
14. "MOON CYCLE"
15. "NYMPHOLOGY"
16. "EVIL"
17. "WOMB"

Encore (version 1)

Performed in Japan, Seoul, Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne (night 1)

1. Encore interlude (instrumental inspired by "POWDER")
2. "Play Date"
3. "Show & Tell"
4. "Mad Hatter"
5. "MILK OF THE SIREN" (only in Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne)

Encore (version 2)

Performed in Manila, Singapore, Brisbane, and Melbourne (night 2)

1. Encore interlude (instrumental inspired by "POWDER")
2. "Dollhouse"
3. "High School Sweethearts"
4. "Soap"
5. "MILK OF THE SIREN" (only in Brisbane and Melbourne)

Co-performers

Openers

• Tanukichan (North American leg)
• UPSAHL (European leg)
• Sofia Isella (Mexico shows)

Dancers

• Marlon Pelayo
• Brandon Mathis
• Andrea Bess
• Angel Mammoliti (only for North America, Europe, Asia, Australia)
• Jas Lin (only for South America)

Band

• Al Cleveland III: Drums
• Layne: Guitar
• Alia Mohamed: Theremin and kecapi
• Harry Foster: Keyboard and upright bass

Dates

• Dates with a (C) mean the show was cancelled.
• Dates with a (F) mean the show was a festival promoted as a tour date.

Date	Location	Venue
May 30, 2023	Denver, Colorado	Fillmore Auditorium
June 1, 2023	Sandy, Utah	Sandy Amphitheater
June 3, 2023	Seattle, Washington	Wamu Theater
June 4, 2023	Portland, Oregon	Alaska Airlines' Theater of the Clouds
June 6, 2023	San Francisco, California	Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
June 7, 2023	Wheatland, California	Hard Rock Live Sacramento
June 9, 2023	Inglewood, California	Youtube Theater
June 10, 2023	San Diego, California	Viejas Arena
June 12, 2023	Phoenix, Arizona	Arizona Financial Theater
June 15, 2023	Irving, Texas	The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
June 16, 2023	Houston, Texas	713 Music Hall
June 17, 2023	Austin, Texas	Moody Amphitheater
June 20, 2023	Tampa, Florida	Yuengling Center
June 21, 2023	Hollywood, Florida	Hard Rock Live
June 23, 2023	Atlanta, Georgia	Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
June 24, 2023	Charlotte, North Carolina	Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 27, 2023	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
June 28, 2023	New York City, New York	Radio City Music Hall
June 30, 2023	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Skyline Stage at the Mann
July 1, 2023	Boston, Massachusetts	MGM Music Hall at Fennway
July 2, 2023	Washington, D.C.	The Anthem
July 5, 2023	Cleveland, Ohio	Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
July 7, 2023	Cincinnati, Ohio	Andrew J. Brady Music Center
July 8, 2023	Sterling Heights, Michigan	Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
July 10, 2023	St. Louis, Missouri	Saint Louis Music Park
July 11, 2023	Chicago, Illinois	Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
July 12, 2023	Minneapolis, Minnesota	The Armory
July 14, 2023	Toronto, Canada	Meridian Hall
July 15, 2023	Montreal, Canada	Mtelus
October 16, 2023	Mexico City, Mexico	Pepsi Center WTC
October 17, 2023	Mexico City, Mexico	Pepsi Center WTC
October 19, 2023	Guadalajara, Mexico	Auditorio Telmex
October 21, 2023 (F)	Monterrey, Mexico	Parque Fundidora
October 29, 2023	Stockholm, Sweden	Hovet
October 31, 2023	Oslo, Norway	Oslo Spektrum
November 2, 2023	Copenhagen, Denmark	KB Hallen
November 4, 2023	Prague, Czech Republic	Fortuna Hall
November 6, 2023	Assago, Italy	Mediolanum Forum
November 9, 2023	London, UK	0V0 Arena Wembley
November 10, 2023	Wolverhamption, UK	The Halls Wolverhamption
November 13, 2023	Manchester, UK	02 Apollo Manchester, UK
November 14, 2023	Manchester, UK	O2 Apollo Manchester, UK
November 15, 2023	Glasgow, UK	0V0 Hydro
November 17, 2023	Dublin, Ireland	3ARENA
November 19, 2023 (C)	Brussels, Belgium	Forest National
November 20, 2023	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Afas Live
November 22, 2023	Warsaw, Poland	Cos Torwar
November 23, 2023	Berlin, Germany	Verti Music Hall
November 24, 2023	Düsseldorf, Germany	Mitsubishi Electric Halle
November 26, 2023	Paris, France	Zénith Paris - La Villette
November 28, 2023	Madrid, Spain	Wizink Center
November 30, 2023	Lisbon, Portugal	Sagres Campo Pequeno
January 19, 2024	Tokyo, Japan	Toyosu PIT
January 21, 2024	Seoul, South Korea	KBS Arena
January 23, 2024	Manila, Philippines	World Trade Center
January 25, 2024	Singapore, Singapore	Singapore Expo
January 28, 2024	Auckland, New Zealand	Spark Arena
January 30, 2024	Sydney, Australia	Aware Super Theatre
February 2, 2024	Brisbane, Australia	Riverstage
February 5, 2024	Melbourne, Australia	Margaret Court Arena
February 6, 2024	Melbourne, Australia	Margaret Court Arena

Gallery

To view the gallery of PORTALS Tour, click here.

PORTALS Tour Promotional Animation

Alternative poster

Poster announcing Tanukichan to be the opening act

Instagram story announcing new dates in Mexico for October 2023

Instagram story announcing two additional dates in Mexico

Poster announcing international dates

Instagram story announcing an additional date in Manchester

Instagram story announcing an additional date in Melbourne

Poster announcing tour dates in Asia

Instagram Story cancelling the show in Brussels

VOID (Live Performance Behind The Scene)

Posted by the tour's pianist, Harry Forster

Melanie Martinez shares a message to Japanese fans for the PORTALS Tour

Merchandise

Clear, high-quality images are needed for the PORTALS Tour merchandise.

DEATH TOTE

PORTALS ILLUSTRATED TOTE

NYMPHOLOGY TOTE

PINK CREATURE T-SHIRT

PORTALS LIVE WHITE T-SHIRT

SPIDERWEB DISTRESSED T-SHIRT

FAIRY MESH TANK TOP

NYMPHOLOGY T-SHIRT

CONTORTIONST T-SHIRT BLACK

SPIDER WEB LYRIC CREWNECK BLACK

PORTALS FAIRY T-SHIRT BROWN

PORTALS PUFF PRINT T-SHIRT BLACK

NOT BE PERCEIVED LONG SLEEVE BLACK

MUSHROOM KISSING CREWNECK

PORTALS TOUR T-SHIRT

Poster (Blurred)

Poster

Euro Tour Pin Pack

Trivia

• There is an animated version of the alternative tour cover posted by Melanie on Instagram.
• Melanie has stated there are phases to the tour, and each leg of the tour are supposed to be a new phase.
• In Asia and Oceania, Melanie has played some of her older songs for the first time in close to a year. These songs include "Dollhouse", "Soap", "High School Sweethearts", etc.
• In the tour, certain songs have slightly different instrumentals.
  • "WOMB" transitions into "POWDER".
• On most dates, Melanie asks "Who's on their period? This one's for you" before she starts singing "MOON CYCLE".
• On multiple occasions, Melanie has shown support to Palestine by waving a Palestinian flag and displaying a QR code on the screen at the end of her shows. The QR code leads to a website where you can donate to Palestine.
• On May 30, 2023, and June 21, 2023, Melanie cried while performing "LIGHT SHOWER", and "POWDER".
• The tour shows the first time she performed "SPIDER WEB", "LEECHES", "NYMPHOLOGY", "WOMB", "POWDER", "PLUTO", and "MILK OF THE SIREN".
• On June 1, 2023, a proposal took place during "LIGHT SHOWER".
• On June 1, 2023, during “POWDER”, crowd decides to stand up and all flash their phone lights while fireworks were happening behind them.
• On June 3, 2023, Melanie's top fell off during "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX".
• Melanie ordered Uber Eats before starting the performance on June 6, 2023.
• The show in Brussels, Belgium on November 19, 2023, was cancelled due to Melanie being sick with a throat infection.
• On November 26, 2023, the microphone cut out during "MILK OF THE SIREN" when her dancers raised the flag of Palestine. The microphone stayed off for the rest of the setlist.
  • Melanie has stated on her Instagram story that she suspects this was a form of censorship by the venue.
• "MILK OF THE SIREN" was on the setlist for the shows in Asia, but it wasn't performed.
• Melanie shot an abundance of confetti at the crowd during "WOMB".

References

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