“It felt so nice to be like, ‘Here I am,’” the actor said of the memorable Madison Square Garden show.

Elliot Page's First Stadium Concert After Coming Out? Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, Of Course | Them

Elliot Page is an enormous Cardi B fan, as the actor, writer, and producer shared in Them’s new August cover story. While recounting his experience going to Megan Thee Stallion’s May 21 concert at Madison Square Garden with his friend, comedian Jes Tom, Page remembered being blown away when Cardi B emerged from the stage for surprise performances of “Bongos” and “WAP.”

“I’m this 37-year-old dude in a stadium, jumping up and down and screaming, and it felt so nice to be like, ‘Here I am,’” Page told Them.

Adding extra meaning to the moment was the fact that it was Page’s second-ever stadium concert, and his first since coming out. (Previously, Page had gone to see Neil Young at the Metro Centre in Halifax in 2008, which is honestly one of the most distinctly Canadian details we’ve ever printed in a cover story.)

Page’s love of music doesn’t end with Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, of course. Elsewhere in our cover story, the actor shared other artists on his playlist, ranging from Brian Eno to Billie Eilish to Sleater-Kinney to the Brazilian alternative artist LaBaq. In essence, Page has eclectic — and great! — taste. In addition to listening to his bedroom pop, I would personally like Page to start making Spotify playlists for my own personal benefit.

Page also waxed serious in the cover story, written by Original Plumbing founding editor Amos Mac, sharing that the legendary transmasc zine — which Mac co-founded with Rocco Kayiatos in 2009 — played a formative role in his own coming-out process. “I still have so many copies of Original Plumbing, which I read and learned from,” Page said. “Those were probably really significant moments and times for me, actually.”

Since coming out as trans in 2020, Page says that he’s felt “a certain mental clarity” that allows him to move through the world in “a more present, decisive” way.

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh my God, being trans is such a life hack, because before, I was so miserable. And now you’re like, ‘What? This is great. I don’t mind. This is kind of cool.’ Like, what?!” he told Mac.