Photos by Emma Cam
On October 14, 2025, Alex (Alexander Morgan) Stephens, also known as Strawberry Guy, wrapped up his mini North American Tour. Beginning in San Diego, I was fortunate enough to attend and truly experience his concert. Upon arriving at the Music Box, I was greeted by many, many children. Although Strawberry Guy’s music caters to no specific age group, I was shocked to see so many students from middle school and high school pull up with their backpacks. Nevertheless, this did not deter me from having a good time. However, the venue itself was extremely disorganized. I was greeted by workers who forgot to scan people’s tickets, neglecting their tasks, and it all felt very unserious. There was even a moment during the opener when someone threw up, and it took a whole song for the workers to tend to the person and a whole other song to actually clean it up. Not only was the venue stinking, but it became much more congested because people would squish together to be further from the stench. Nonetheless, it seemed like the workers did not care about their job, which was disappointing.
Moreover, from being overstimulated by the crowd to the staff, the opener was… interesting. Strawberry Guy brought Fonteyn, an uprising artist inspired by 70’s pop, as his opener. Her set was composed of her and a keyboard. That’s it. Now I usually do not care too much about how many instruments are used or whether or not there's a backtrack, as long as it complements the musician's vocals, I will enjoy it. Unfortunately, Fonteyn has a very strong voice, akin to musical theater-trained singers, and thus, with such a powerful voice being paired with a little keyboard, it did not mesh well. Her poppy old-timey voice singing to jazz just made me so uncomfortable, and her songs sounded way too similar to each other. Now, some songs like “These Days” and “Honey” were fun and nostalgic; I will give her that, and objectively, she can sing, but her voice needs to be on Broadway, not a little stage in a venue with terrible feedback. On top of that, her performance of “Jodie” was reminiscent of the song “Made In Japan” by Buck Owens, so once again, it’s not like her entire set was irritating me. There were definitely songs that felt like the sun was out and things were peaceful, but many other songs felt like vibrato dumps (shoutout Hugh Jackman). In terms of interacting with the crowd—besides her little exposition about her songs being inspired by the desert—there was not much talking unless it was about fixing her mic. In the end, I was sweating from being smothered by the people next to me, listening to a nigh-acapella performance piled with vibrato, and smelling throw up; it was not fun. I genuinely wanted to leave because I thought there was no way to redeem the night. Spoiler: I was wrong.
After Fonteyn left the stage and the wait for Strawberry Guy and his string quartet was over, hearing the first note of “F Song” being played felt like the SpongeBob meme where he’s ascending with the headphones. My mood was automatically lifted, not only from the music but also from the fact that after most of his songs, Strawberry Guy would talk with the crowd. There’s something about a Welsh man with luscious locks saying “yes, queen” and calling himself a “boujee bitch” that had me shaking with cuteness aggression.
Now back to the sonics of his set; hearing iconic songs that pioneered 2020, like “Mrs. Magic” and “When the Morning Comes” with a string quartet, genuinely felt like I was in Pride and Prejudice (2005). I felt transported from the mustiness of the Music Box to the hilltop of some random place in Europe, watching the dewy sky and sun rise. Strawberry Guy emphasized that this mini tour was a way for him to hype up his fans for his upcoming album, but also play some old music. So not only did his set list include deep cuts like “Believing” and “Birch Tree,” but he played many new ones as well. His performance of unreleased tracks like “Without You” and “Better Man” hints at how his next album is going to be: introspective and touching on themes of past acceptance and hope. I am beyond excited. Another song on this coming album, “Give Me a Dream,” reminded me of Wasia Project’s “Takes Me Back Home,” not only because of its melancholic melody but yearning lyrics, as well. Lastly, nearing the end of his set, Strawberry Guy took a moment to cover “What Once Was” as a tribute to his late friends Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading, formerly known as the duo Her’s. It was such a visceral and raw performance, truly amazing, and tears were welling up.
Despite going into the show thinking I did not know much about Strawberry Guy, each song was like a sleeper agent phrase that woke me up because somehow I knew 90% of the lyrics. It really showed how, although Strawberry Guy does not milk his virality, his music has crept into so many media outlets, videos, etc. If you say, “I don’t know Strawberry Guy,” oh yes, you do, and if truly you don’t, you definitely should. Not only was he able to offer such a cinematic, intimate, and friendly show, but it was so amazing that for the entirety of his set, I forgot about every bad thing that happened prior. 10/10 experience for Strawberry Guy, I do not care to rank anything else.
Moments from an evening with Strawberry Guy:
