Latto Brings ATL to NYC With Halloween Night ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea’ Tour Stop: 5 Best Moments

In 2022 — the same year “Big Energy” became her first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit — Latto got her first run at performing in arenas when she served as one of the openers for the North American leg of Lizzo‘s Special Tour. Just two years later, the Clayton County emcee headlined a major New York arena on her own when she graced Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Halloween (Oct. 31) for the fifth stop of her Sugar Honey Iced Tea Tour.

Latto’s latest trek is in support of her third studio album of the same name, which debuted atop Rap Albums and reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200. A sprawling love letter to the sonic fabric of Atlanta rap, Sugar Honey Iced Tea features the Hot 100 hits “Big Mama” (No. 92), “Sunday Service” (No. 100, with Megan Thee Stallion & Flo Milli) and “Put It on Da Floor Again” (No. 13, with Cardi B), as well as collaborations with Ciara, Coco Jones, Hunxho, Teezo Touchdown, Young Nudy and Mariah the Scientist.

The night began with a brief performance from Karrahboo — who brought out Gio, an Atlanta-based model attached to Lil Yachty‘s Concrete Boys collective — and a particularly heartfelt set from Mariah the Scientist. “Let’s just make it to the end so I can get on this jet!” she quipped mid-set, one of several times she alluded to the good news that rocked the hip-hop world mere hours before she took the stage: Young Thug, Grammy-winning rapper and beau to Mariah the Scientist, was sentenced to 15 years probation and no prison time after pleading guilty in the two-year criminal case alleging that he was the leader of a violent Atlanta street gang.

With Thugger coming home, Mariah implored that fans “burn [their] ‘Free Thug’ shirts” and start saying the phrase backward (“Thug free!”). Buoyed by an extra boost of passion and energy sourced from the Young Thug news, Mariah the Scientist rocked Barclays Center with a set that smartly played on the emotional vulnerability of her catalog. She’s been very open about continuing to ride for her man no matter the outcome of the case, so songs like “Spread Thin” felt especially poignant as they blasted through the arena.

Latto finally took the stage around 10:30 p.m., kicking off her set with the viral Sugar Honey Iced Tea opener “Georgia Peach.” From the classic first verse of “Georgia on My Mind” to the retro advertisements and tongue-in-cheek video interludes, Latto delivered an incredibly streamlined visual interpretation of the Sugar Honey Iced Tea aesthetic, which she described in her July Billboard cover story as “Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Lil’ Kim and Kelis… but obviously with a Southern hip-hop twist. They have very feminine energy, but masculine in the sense of confidence.”

In a nod to the holiday, Latto donned a Playboy bunny Halloween costume as she ripped her way through a setlist that prioritized her rap catalog. Though two of the biggest songs of her career are “Big Energy” and “Seven,” her Hot 100-topping collaboration with Jung Kook, Latto largely shied away from her pop fare, opting to focus on her recent hip-hop hits like “Brokey” and “Back Outside” and her earlier rap bangers like “Muwop” and “B—h from da Souf.” Despite a bit of sickness working against her, Latto delivered a remarkably high-energy show that featured tight choreography, an emphasis on live rapping and multiple levels of fan engagement — from the freaky Jumbotron moment of “Copper Cove” to the audience poll that gave way to heartfelt renditions of “Prized Possession” and “S/O to Me.”

Here are the five best moments of Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea tour.