LIVE REVIEW: TORI AMOS – IN TIMES OF DRAGONS TOUR @ ATLANTA SYMPHONY HALL, ATLANTA,GA – JULY 18, 2026

Tori Amos brought her In Times of Dragons Tour to Atlanta Symphony Hall on Saturday night for a show that felt built for that room. Symphony Hall has a different kind of energy than most concert venues. It is quieter, more focused, and gives a performance room to breathe. For an artist like Amos, that kind of setting makes sense.

The show was completely sold out, to the point that even resale marketplaces did not appear to have tickets available. That gave the night a different kind of weight before the first note was even played. This was not a casual crowd wandering in late. It felt like a room full of people who knew exactly why they were there.

Opening the night was Bartees Strange, performing solo and keeping things stripped down. With no full band around him, the focus stayed on his songs, his voice, and the stories he told between them. That ended up being a big part of why the set worked.

Before “Sober,” Strange explained that the song was not really about being sober, but about love. He told a story about a man in Colorado who came up to him after a show and wanted to give him his 20-year sobriety coin because of what the song meant to him. Strange said he was grateful for the gesture, but joked that in his head he was thinking the man would know pretty quickly he was not actually sober if he leaned in for a hug. It was funny, honest, and a little awkward in the best way. Those moments helped his set feel less like a standard opener and more like someone letting the room in on where the songs came from.

When Tori Amos walked out, she had the room immediately. Wearing a gold dress with an almost snake-print look to it, she seemed genuinely happy to be there, giving the audience a bow of appreciation before settling in. There was a warmth in the way she carried herself, like she was settling into the space instead of just moving through another stop.

This run also gave the songs a little more room to grow with a full band behind her. Longtime collaborator Jon Evans handled musical director and bass duties, with Ash Soan on drums and backing singers Liv Gibson, Deni Hlavinka, and Hadley Kennary adding another layer behind Amos. That extra vocal texture made the show feel bigger without taking the center away from her.

Amos has always been the kind of artist whose songs do not feel confined to one version. Live, they can shift, stretch, and take on a different shape depending on the night. That was a big part of the Atlanta show. Even with the band behind her, the performance still centered on Amos, her piano, and the way she can make a large room feel incredibly personal.

The set opened with “Fire to Your Plain” before moving into “Shush,” “i i e e e,” and “Ruby Through the Looking-Glass.” From there, the night kept moving through different sides of her catalog without feeling like a greatest-hits run. “Mary” gave the early part of the set a quieter pull, while “China” and “Strange” both came with improv intros that made those moments feel found in the room instead of simply played from a list.

That is where Amos is still so strong live. She does not just sit at the piano and play the songs straight. She works around them, pulls them apart, and lets Evans, Soan, Gibson, Hlavinka, and Kennary help shape the edges without crowding her. “Witness” had a slow-building weight to it, while “Precious Things” gave the night one of its stronger emotional moments.

The middle stretch with “Little Amsterdam,” “Taxi Ride,” and “Spring Haze” kept the show from sitting in one mood too long. There were delicate moments, stranger moments, and places where the band gave the songs a little more push without taking away from what makes Amos such a commanding presence on her own.

By the encore, Atlanta Symphony Hall felt fully connected. “Big Wheel” gave the night a little more movement before “Cornflake Girl” closed the show with one of the earlier hits that helped push Tori Amos from respected songwriter into a voice that defined a generation of alternative music fans. It still feels huge when it lands live, and in Atlanta, it gave the night the kind of ending that felt both familiar and earned.

It was not a flashy show in the usual sense, and it did not need to be. Tori Amos does not have to force a big moment. She builds the kind of show where people lean in, listen, and stay with her. In Atlanta, she seemed comfortable, happy, and fully present, and that made the night feel personal without ever feeling small.

Tickets and additional tour information are available through Tori Amos and Live Nation.

Tori Amos Photo Gallery

Bartees Strange Photo Gallery

Setlist

• Fire to Your Plain
• Shush
• i i e e e
• Ruby Through the Looking-Glass
• Mary
• China
• Strange
• Witness
• Precious Things
• Little Amsterdam
• Taxi Ride
• Spring Haze
• Encore: Big Wheel
• Encore: Cornflake Girl

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Live photography by Chris Collett for No Flash Needed. © 2026 No Flash Needed. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without written permission.