Many Florence + The Machine fans would liken the experience of attending one of the group’s live shows to going to church. On April 20, a cold, windy night in the West End, Florence Welch played the preacher and led TD Garden in a prayer to the supernatural music she calls her own.

2026’s “Everybody Scream Tour” is in support of the 2025 album of the same name, which follows up on many of the witchy themes Florence + The Machine has curated throughout their discography. Songs like “Witch Dance” and “The Old Religion” provide significant thematic backing throughout the LP, and the live show fully embraced its occult vibe.

This eeriness carried into the choreography, in which the four backup dancers seemed as if they were explicitly trained to move in the least human ways possible. They really shone during “Seven Devils,” where they absolutely blasted past the line of normalcy and jerked their bodies around the stage in disturbing, undead-looking movements as red lights flooded the arena.

“Everybody Scream,” the self-titled album opener, was also the first song Welch brought out in the live show, and it epitomized the intense feelings the whole concert concocted.

At times, Welch encouraged her fans to join her in shrill screams to match the desperate chorus. At others, Welch moved like an angel; she walked gracefully, arms extended and dress flowing, up and down the stage. With her signature barefoot look, she belted into the microphone as if it took no effort at all.

“Big God,” performed about halfway through the show, sharing this sense of elegance and in some ways representing what Welch was best at: staying in complete control of the energy of her performance in the slowest parts of the show.

It can be easy in less vivacious songs for a performer to let the ebb get the best of them, but Welch resoundingly proved that this issue was not one of hers.

On the contrary, Welch knew exactly how to put a spell on her audience in moodier songs. Whether it was by bathing them in cool tones from an impressively complete set of lights, or singing calm, ethereal vocals — like on “King” — she seemed to know exactly what each moment required.

Her occasional monologues that recounted the stories behind various songs also brought a heartwarming tinge between tracks, like during her introduction to “Buckle.”

“I found it really embarrassing to still be writing songs about people not texting me back,” Welch said.

Fun quips like these were paired with incredibly poignant moments, such as during “Sympathy Magic,” which closed the main act. Welch climbed down from the stage and spent five minutes walking from individual to individual in the front row, sharing an intensely personal moment with each of them.

“Cosmic Love,” one of the highlights of Florence + The Machine’s debut album “Lungs,” started promisingly, with Tom Moth plucking lonely notes into the air throughout the extended harp intro while beautifully backlit by a soft, white light.

The song clearly had powerful potential, but ultimately felt just a little restrained. There was a sense of something missing, perhaps a little more movement on stage, or perhaps a slightly more involved arrangement.

More likely, though, the music was simply slightly too quiet. The massive PA speakers — usually so good at beaming sound directly into one’s soul — felt held back throughout most of the concert, to an extent more noticeable in the higher energy songs.

A notable exception was during the encore, where Welch directed the audience to put their phones away and revel in the chorus of “Dog Days Are Over,” the group’s most popular song. It was easily the climax of the concert, with Welch running up and down the stage like a madwoman, as the arena reveled in what she called the “little ritual” of experiencing music while fully immersed in the moment.

Florence + The Machine certainly draws many fans in with their catchy choruses and indie pop sound, but by spending an evening with them, one starts to hear more. The airy harp begins to pick at one’s ear, the subtleties of the lyrics settle slowly into one’s mind, and eventually, the haunting, beautiful vibrato of Welch’s otherworldly voice completely convinces one of having woken up in the depths of a witch coven for two unearthly hours.

—Staff writer Alessandro M. M. Drake can be reached at [email protected].