Malcolm Todd drew a sold-out crowd of 6,000 fans to The Anthem on Sunday, Sept. 20, for the DC stop of his Do That Again Tour.
Long before doors opened, fans had already crowded outside the venue. The line grew so large that The Anthem ultimately opened both its front and side entrances to get everyone inside. The demand wasn’t surprising: When tickets initially went on sale, I tried to buy them myself and landed at No. 68,000 in the queue.
Inside, the enthusiastic, largely college-aged crowd favored laid-back streetwear, with plenty of fans wearing red to match the album artwork. It was another sign of just how quickly Todd has built a devoted audience. Only a few years removed from teaching himself bass in high school and working at Cold Stone Creamery, he now counts millions of streams and thousands of ticket buyers among the markers of his rapid rise.
Todd and his band opened the show by riffing on the iconic introductions of the 1990s Chicago Bulls. A huge screen showed live video of the musicians backstage as each member received an individual introduction.
When Todd finally emerged in a denim button-up, blue jeans and sandals, he immediately undercut the too-cool persona that can follow newly minted stars. He seemed relaxed and approachable as he launched into “Jean Skirt,” the lead single from his sophomore album and the namesake of the Do That Again Tour.
The massive screen soon became an unexpected problem. After the band finished “Obsessica,” the lights went out and the musicians left the stage. A crew member explained that the show would pause briefly while technicians worked on the screen.
About three minutes later, Todd returned and announced that he would play a few songs while the problem was being fixed.
That technical failure ended up producing one of the night’s best stretches.
Todd told the crowd he once played “Florence” regularly on tour but hadn’t performed it recently. Alone onstage, he brought the older fan favorite back as a large portion of the audience sang every word with him. With more time to fill, he followed it with a cover of Rex Orange County’s “Corduroy Dreams.”
Watch the official visualizer for “Florence” by Malcolm Todd on YouTube:
The malfunction also forced Todd to improvise in smaller ways. At one point, instead of relying on the screen for a visual cue, he simply spelled out “B-I-T-C-H” himself. The unexpected detour highlighted how comfortable he has become as a live performer: When the production failed him, he kept the show moving.
Todd maintained that easy rapport throughout the night. When fans began chanting, “Take it off!” he teased the crowd for a moment before finally removing his shirt.
The polished production eventually returned, but the show never felt dependent on it. Todd and his band gave the songs a distinct live energy, and the unexpected interruption ultimately made the concert feel more spontaneous rather than less complete.
After the band left the stage again, the audience immediately began calling for an encore. This time, the screen was ready.
“Should I go back to scooping ice cream?” appeared above the stage, followed by a Magic 8 Ball response: “Don’t Do That Again.”
Then came another question: “Should I play another song?”
“Should I?”
The answer, appropriately, was: “Do That Again.”
Todd and the band returned for two final songs, performing the album’s title track before closing with fan favorite “Roommates.”
The numbers behind Todd’s rise are striking. Three years ago, he had never played a show. This year, Do That Again reached the top 10 on seven Billboard charts simultaneously and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, his first appearance in the chart’s top 10. The album moved more than 67,000 units, including more than 30,000 traditional album sales and 19,000 vinyl copies, earning the No. 2 spot on the Vinyl Albums chart.
Todd has gone from playing no shows in 2022 to selling more than 100,000 tickets across three continents on a single tour. At The Anthem, that growth didn’t feel abstract. Six thousand fans who knew the older songs, embraced the new ones and happily stuck with him through a broken video screen made it visible in real time.
Setlist:
Jean Skirt
Breathe
Malcolm in the Middle
Free.99
Difficult Love
Ain’t That The Truth
Walk to Class
Bleed
You Owe Me
X’s and O’s
Obsessica
Florence
Corduroy Dreams (Rex Orange County cover)
4Me 4Me
Mr. Incorrect
Sweet Boy
Make Me a Better Man
Gun To My Head
Good Bye
Cheer Me On
Chest Pain (I Love)
Earrings
I Saw Your Face
Encore:
Do That Again
Roommates
All photographs from Malcolm Todd’s performance at The Anthem on Sept. 20, 2026, are copyright and courtesy of Caden Forrester.
