Harry Styles Asked Madison Square Garden to Go Silent for 9/11, and the Room Actually Did

Harry Styles paused his Madison Square Garden show Friday night to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. During the eighth night of his 30-night residency, he told the crowd he was seven years old and walking home from school when the attacks happened, and that his world became“completely different”that day. He then honored the“incredible resilience”of New York, along with the people lost and the first responders who stepped up.

Then came the moment that’s got everyone talking. Styles asked the audience to put their phones away and close their eyes while his bandmate Yaffra performed Bill Evans’“Peace Piece”on piano. A sold-out arena, fully quiet, on purpose, on the anniversary. For an artist whose shows usually run on pure crowd energy, choosing stillness was the whole point.

The tribute also landed days after ticket artwork for the residency, showing a car flying over the Empire State Building, drew social media criticism for arriving near the anniversary. Read it however you want, the arena went silent and the song did the talking.

What’s the most memorable live-music moment you’ve ever experienced? Tell us in the comments.