The Favors Bring ‘The Dream’ to NYC

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hofstra chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

On the first day of October 2025, a crowd of people held their breath, watching the Summerstage in Central Park as they waited for The Favors to take the stage. Which member of the band would appear first? What song would they start with? When the first lyrics of “Restless Little Heart” were heard from offstage, those questions disappeared, and the crowd cheered. It was time, as the opening track of The Favors’ debut album, The Dream, played, the band slowly made their way onto the stage, ending with the entrance of Ashe and Finneas. They waved to the crowd and took up their instruments and microphones, as the fans screamed and clapped for what would surely be the start of a magical night.

And what a magical night it was. If you know Ashe and Finneas, you know that they have been friends for a while and have collaborated on music in the past. But this is the first full album they have created together, getting to see them perform live in the city that inspired many of the songs on the album was incredible. The album, titled The Dream, released on September 19th, 2025, encapsulates the feeling of loving someone and trying to let them go, while mixing in the feeling of what it is like to try to “make it” in the music industry. With a combination of sad, slower songs and songs with big production design and a dance-y vibe, The Favors had it all. When talking to the crowd at the concert, they promised a rollercoaster-like experience: a sad song and then a song that gets you to dance, just repeating that pattern throughout the night. The crowd indeed swayed, cried, and danced their hearts out to the music that moved them.

Original photo by Sara Santoro

The band didn’t only perform The Dream’s tracklist, but mixed in songs from Ashe’s and Finneas’ individual albums that they have put out into the world. Ashe performed songs such as “Moral of the Story”, her big hit from 2020, and “Angry Woman”, an absolutely iconic bop from her 2022 album, Rae. Finneas is best known for his collaboration with his sister (Billie Eilish, by the way) on her work, but has released multiple popular albums of his own over the years as well. The crowd jammed to songs such as “Cleats” and “For Cryin’ Out Loud!”. For fans of Finneas’ and Ashe’s solo projects, it was a special little treat to get to see them perform and lovingly watch each other perform their own music. Some other highlights of the night include Finneas dedicating a song to his new fiancée, Claudia Sulewski (it was so adorable!!!) and the band’s drummer, David Marinelli, captivating the audience with his charm and performance of “Someday I’ll Be Back in Hollywood”. 

When the end of the night came around, Ashe and Finneas announced that there were only two songs left, it seemed like time had gone by so fast. It was already over? The Favors played the closing track of The Dream, “Home Sweet Home”, followed by a stand-out performance of “Till Forever Falls Apart”. The crowd was screaming along, dancing and internally begging for the night to never end. As Ashe and Finneas sang the last lyrics of “Till Forever Falls Apart”, it felt like they were making a promise to the crowd that their music, and this experience, would be forever. They brought so much joy, love, and passion to the stage and you could feel it in the crowd too. It truly did feel like a dream to be there, in the world of The Favors.