Lana Del Rey Packs Out Nashville's Municipal Auditorium Bringing to Stage a Range of Special Guests

by Andrew Braithwaite
in Reviews

Lana Del Rey finished her USA fall tour on Tuesday night supported by a range of special guests, including Lukas Nelson (son of the great Willie Nelson), former The Walkman frontman Hamilton Leithauser, Nikki Lane and Lissie; the acts were seemingly included to suit the Nashville music culture and crowd, adding a little extra spark and interest to the show. This ultimately invoked a country theme for the event, which seemed to favor the city's music scene. 

Kicking off her show with Norman f**king Rockwell, the title track to her latest album as well as the name of her tour, she won the audience over instantly with her signature vocal style, but her dreamy, exceptional performance and star power is hardly a surprise for her longtime fans. She continued with piano-accompanied ballads Bartender and For Free, a Joni Mitchell cover, before inviting Nikki Lane to the stage to perform her country song Look Away. Stepping things up a little, Del Ray brought back nostalgia with her classic popular songs Born To Die and Blue Jeans. She then invited Lukas Nelson to the stage for Find Yourself

As the crowd immersed themselves into the wonder of her performance, she continued holding their attention with an array of her hits: Cherry, Pretty When You Cry, Change / Black Beauty / Young and Beautiful / Ride. Lissie was then invited to stage to perform her song They All Want You. Up next was Lana's hit Video Games, where she delighted the spectators by carousing on a flower-bound swing; her creative vision apparent in all the numbers. The next song emerged as a standout moment when she invited Hamilton Leithauser to perform Bob Dylan's Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. Leithauser continued with his song When the Truth Is. Next came 2012 hit Summertime Sadness, before ending the show with Doin’ Time, a Sublime cover, Off to the Races and Venice Bitch.

Various stage props enabled a great scene for the show, including a large, decadent tree, a wooden swing and impressive backing dancers. Known for her dramatic, cinematic themes in music and visual performances, she explores classic Americana subjects and delves into personal topics, ensuring larger-than-life deliveries and expressions.

 Dream pop    Rock