Phone torches are the thousands of smartphone lights raised during a slow song, turning an arena into a field of tiny stars and, for a few minutes, making a sea of screens look almost romantic.
They replaced the lighter, which had its own origin story. Melanie Safka recalled that when rain threatened her set at Woodstock in 1969, the announcer suggested lighting candles to keep the weather away, and the hillside filled with little flames. The night inspired her song Lay Down (Candles in the Rain), and for about a year audiences brought candles whenever she sang it, so many that fire officials grew wary of approving her shows. Candles gave way to matches, then lighters, then screens: a 2005 U2 concert in Chicago is one of the earliest reported cases of fans waving glowing phones in place of flames. Built-in torches finished the job, with the added bonus that nobody singes a fringe.