Everyone laughs, but it’s also a sign that Winfrey is very aware of her power.Īt the same time, she wants us to know that she is just like us: She talks about being stuck in the car on the way to work, and she professes her love for tequila (fun!) and bread (same!) multiple times. She jokes that instead of Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour, they had considered calling the event the Oprah 2020 Tour, but she was worried people might get the wrong idea. When a resounding roar rings out, it signals that yes, New Jersey is in the house-and Oprah always knows her audience. In the dark, sealed environment of this arena, it occurs to me that I could be anywhere in the world, and if Oprah told me that we were in New Jersey, I would believe her. When Winfrey walks on stage, she asks the crowd, “Is New Jersey in the house?” On its face, this is ludicrous, as if she doesn’t realize that the Nets moved to Brooklyn eight years ago, or that she really believes that that many people would trek all the way from there to here. I am acting like a drunk uncle at a wedding-but so is everybody else. (Daybreaker proudly notes on its website that “We’re backed by science, y’all.”) At one point, a man on stage yelled “Brooklyn! Keytar!” and launched into an extended funky solo. on a Saturday is a preposterous time to host a rave, but when employees of Daybreaker, the early-morning sober dance party company flood the stage wearing sequined outfits dancing to remixes of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” I immediately join in, singing along with my hands in the air. In Oprah’s hermetic world (attendees were not permitted to reenter if they left before it ended at 4 p.m.), nothing is crazy and everything makes sense. A teacher from New Jersey tells me that this was her second Oprah event-the first one inspired her to lose 35 pounds-as we tried to ignore the phalanx of anti-vaxxers around us holding signs stating that vaccinations can cause brain encephalitis and autism and are somehow manufactured from aborted fetuses. I quickly like the women standing in line to enter the arena with me. With tickets ranging from $30 to $200, the day attracts a diverse (though mostly female) crowd.

But at a time when the relentless news cycle occasionally makes me feel hopeless, and after a cancer scare-I was cleared the day before the event-I thought that a day of worship at Oprah’s semi-secular church that has inspired so many people might be just what I needed. There’s something askance about one of the most famous non-musicians in the world developing an arena show and hitting the road.

Oprah 2020 vision tour agenda