When the Sky Falls: Inside the Fred Again.. USB002 Tour

In a live concert era dominated by LED walls and digital maximalism, Fred Again.. chose something different for his USB002 tour, something softer, stranger, and more human. Above audiences from Glasgow and Brussels to Madrid, Dublin, and Vancouver, a 70-meter fabric installation moved like a living organism, breathing with the music and the crowd below.

This wasn't just stage design. It was a shared emotional experience, crafted by Dutch visual artist Boris Acket, whose suspended textile work became the defining visual signature of the tour.

A Sky That Breathes

Acket's approach to scenography centers on materiality and emotion. His installation for Fred Again didn't decorate the stage—it absorbed entire arenas, transforming them into soft, kinetic chambers where the ceiling behaved like weather.

During crescendos, the fabric rippled in great waves. In quieter moments, it hovered like a suspended horizon. The surface moved in response to airflow, tension, performance rhythm, and the energy of thousands of people standing beneath it. Each show revealed new behaviors in the material—proof that this was somewhere between sculpture and natural phenomenon.

Shortly after the five European dates, Acket shared insight into the conceptual heart of the project on Instagram. He described a pivotal moment during development when the team performed a "free fall" with the fabric, releasing such a massive surface from tension for the first time.

"When releasing such a big surface of fabric from tension the amount of detail and movement happening in front of you is endless," he wrote. "We saw everyone around us just about dropping to the floor when it happened."

Fred told him it reminded him of a humpback whale breaching—creating an immense spray as it crashes back into the water. That memory became the emotional anchor for the entire installation.

Fred Again.. in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 3, 2025. Sam Neill

"I love when an experience pushes you so far out of your 'normal' state, it feels like you become filterless and childlike," Acket continued. "I guess that's a big part of what we're both trying to achieve with our work."

The fabric's free fall echoed nature's overwhelming, unrepeatable gestures. It activated the same mental space as childhood wonder or a moment of natural spectacle—exactly what Fred's music aims to create through sound.

10 Shows, 10 Cities, 10 Weeks

The USB002 tour unfolded as a carefully orchestrated journey across Europe and North America throughout October and November 2024. Each week brought a new city, a new song release, and special guest collaborators who shaped the night's energy.

Glasgow launched the run with Haai and Japanese producer Yousuke Yukimatsu, coinciding with the release of "You're a Star" featuring Amyl and the Sniffers. Brussels followed with local Belgian producers and the Danny Brown collaboration "OGdub." In Madrid, Spanish artists Drea and Toccororo joined Fred alongside Skin On Skin, who also appeared on dual remixes of "The Floor."

Lyon brought legends Caribou and Floating Points for the releases "Facilita" and "Ambery"—but the real surprise came the next night in Paris, where Fred appeared alongside Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter for his first DJ set in 16 years at Because Beaubourg. Dublin closed the European leg with Irish rappers and Fontaines DC members, plus the hardstyle banger "Hardstyle 2" with Kettama and Shady Nasty.

Fred again.. with Skream & Benga in Vancouver on Nov. 29. 2025. Theo Batterham

The tour crossed the Atlantic for shows in Toronto (featuring Four Tet), Chicago (with Sammy Virji), and Vancouver (featuring Skream & Benga). In Vancouver, Fred made an unforgettable gesture that captured the spontaneous magic defining the entire run.

A Dancer Named Ian

After seeing viral footage of 16-year-old Slovenian dancer Ian Hotko performing to "Rumble," Fred flew him to Vancouver to shoot a live video for "Feisty" featuring Bia. The catch? Hotko didn't want to hear the song in advance.

"He said it's best when he just freestyles," Fred shared on Instagram. "That blew my mind, I'd always thought these things were like meticulously choreographed!"

Hotko appeared in the crowd at the Vancouver Convention Center, dancing as the track dropped—turning off gravity, as Fred put it, just for a second. The moment embodied everything about USB002: raw, unfiltered, alive.

Beyond the Screen

Boris Acket's fabric installation offered a powerful alternative to contemporary touring rigs dominated by rigid infrastructure and digital displays. The material became a character—soft, unpredictable, deeply human. Audiences weren't watching a stage; they were inside the scenography.

Fred again.. in Brussels, Belgium on Oct. 10, 2025. Courtesy of Huxley

Combined with phone-free shows (stickers placed over cameras upon entry), the tour prioritized presence over documentation. No endless scrolling through footage later—just the memory of standing beneath a falling sky, feeling the bass move through your chest, watching fabric dance above your head.

It's the kind of experience that pushes you out of your normal state, making you filterless and childlike again. A humpback breaching. A fabric free fall. A 16-year-old dancer who doesn't need to rehearse.

Pure magic, designed to generate new memories. The kind you carry with you long after the lights come up and the fabric settles.

Photos: Sam Neill (Glasgow), Huxley (Brussels), Theo Batterham (Madrid, Lyon, Dublin, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver)
Installation: Boris Acket (Creative Direction, Production)
Creative Production: Luiza Guidi
Creative Coding/Operating: Corey Schneider
Winch Technology: Wahlberg Motion Design