Lana Del Rey

The final day at BST Hyde Park 2023 and we were graced with sunshine and a warm breeze, with only the distant threat of rain. The Great Oak stage had seen some action over the last fortnight, with G’n’R, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen among the headliners. This final Sunday, Gang of Youths and Father John Misty would lay the ground for Lana Del Rey as she brought her sultry soulful noir alt pop with its tales of tragic romance and Americana.

Australian alt rock band Gang of Youths opened with their 2022 single ‘the angel of 8th ave.’ and moved through a set of sunshine, top-down hits. Band founder and lead singer Dave Le'aupepe, with his flowing dark curls rippling in the breeze, worked the crowd. Teasing them at one point with a smile and a raised eyebrow at just how much he shared Jason Momoa’s good looks. Interestingly, they chose to omit what is probably their most famous song, Achilles Come Down, which left some eager fans feeling a little cheated. Albeit they ended strong with ‘in the wake of your leave’, another song from their 2022 album ‘angel in realtime’, with Le'aupepe admonishing the crowd (with a string of expletives and a slight rant at the prison system) to be kind to one another.

Father John Misty followed with his own style of satirical song writing, with a performance dominated by his widely acclaimed album I Love You, Honeybear. He has something of the Nick Cave about him, with his country style tales and air of eccentricity - he even delivers a good knee drop a few times. The backing band were head-down in concentration, and despite the strength of Misty’s lyrics, the setlist meandered a bit in the middle – conjuring a different mood compared to Gang of Youths. However, Misty ended on a high with the upbeat The Ideal Husband. Three and a half minutes that showcase how adept he is writing lyrics.

An hour later as the sun slowly fell, the time for Lana Del Rey to take the stage came… and went. But there was to be no repeat of Glastonbury here, this time she was only fashionably late. A cinematic intro accompanied her troupe of backing singers and dancers, and then to screams and a sea of phones Del Rey graced the stage. Wearing a flower-patterned dress and sparkly tiara, she moved slowly as if she was wearing a heavy crown, tended by her troupe of dancers who wrapped a long flowing train around her waist as she opened with A&W from her recent album.

Bartender followed as she moved to sit down at a dressing table. Whilst a stylist reworked her hair, Del Rey with a cheeky smile took a couple of drags on a vape to the crowd’s huge delight. A similar, wry skit that she gave at Glastonbury the other week, yet part of a subtly choreographed performance that was weaved around each song.

Del Rey’s significant breakthrough debut album, Born to Die and accompanying EPs were released over 10 years ago now and she has followed this with a prolific decade, releasing nine studio albums. Her vocal is soft yet lush as she sings her tales of bad boys, cars and 60s Americana with soulful noir. The towering LED wrap-around video screen complemented with dreamy, sepia toned images of a younger Del Rey and times gone by. Ride, Born to Die from those early days of her career were met with a loud chorus from the audience, so much so that Del Rey on several occasions offered her mic to them. Albeit to be fair, all the songs she played tonight were met with similar enthusiasm from a devout audience.

There was a pause in the setlist about half-way through where Del Rey climbed down and spent a good chunk of time talking and taking selfies with emotional devotees squeezed in the front of stage. She followed this with another intimate moment for all to share when she climbed on top of a gold piano to sing the ballad Candy Necklace from her most recent album. A beautiful song and one that showcases how she has grown in stature as a songwriter.

With another apology for getting cut off at Glastonbury (“Sorry about that”, she says), Summertime Sadness ushered in the tail end of her set, and another big singalong. Closing the night with her breakthrough hit Video Games whilst sitting on a flower adorned swing, Del Rey gently swung back and forth as if without a care in the world.

Setlist:
A&W
Young and Beautiful
Bartender
Chemtrails Over the Country Club
The Grants
Cherry
Pretty When You Cry
Ride
Born to Die
Blue Jeans
Norman Fucking Rockwell
Arcadia
Ultraviolence
White Mustang
Candy Necklace
Diet Mountain Dew
Summertime Sadness
Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Video Games