Dressed like a Sunday School teacher from Little House on the Prairie, international superstar Lana Del Rey surrounded herself with guests, string musicians, and dancers in a wholesome set Friday (4/25) at Stagecoach in Indio, California.
Her 13-song set included hits from her glorious past and four new tunes from the eagerly anticipated "country" album whose title has changed from Lasso to The Right Person Will Stay.
She also presented a recording of "Bluebird" from the forthcoming album, while a video of her playing with an animated bird was projected on the screens behind the stage as the strings added some heft live.
It was a genius way to introduce the audience, and those who were watching the stream on Amazon Prime, to her new single... while giving herself time for a far more flattering costume change.
But since it was not actually a live performance, it doesn't count as a live debut.
Proving that not one soul cared that her catalogue isn't what any would call country, when Lana dipped into her catalogue the audience nearly overpowered her as they sang along from the chest.
A tip of the cowboy hat to the use of the pedal guitarist on "Summertime Sadness" which added just enough twang to the Born to Die hit from 2012. And yes, she was wearing a red dress.
Earlier in the set, the recently engaged songstress blessed the energetic Stagecoach crowd with a beautiful live debut of a track from her last LP, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.
How is it possible that such a tender tune from an album that was released two years ago hadn't ever been heard before? Oh that's easy, darlin, Ms Lana Del Rey only played 30 times in 2023 and just 10 times last year.
That might be one reason so many were singing along to her set on the polo fields on opening night of Stagecoach: she plays so infrequently, you might just wanna buy a three-day wristband to a country fest simply to see Mother of the sad girl revolution.
And unlike some of the big stars from last year's Stagecoach, she didn't let anyone down with her stellar performance or song selection.
Like many of her productions, her stage is busy with props and singers and dancers and her band.
The flowered, (motorized?) swing is still there giving the set a charm of a sweet humble home somewhere in a Louisiana swamp.
Is any of it necessary? Of course not. Lana, who headlined Coachella last year, could sit on a wooden box in flip flops and her fans would eat it up, rightfully.
And why shouldn't they? Her lyrics are just as biting as ever. Where in the past she would diss this boyfriend or that for writing bad poems or playing too much Call of Duty, in one from the new batch, "57.5" she casually talks about hating everyone and smooching a problematic country singer.
I kissed Morgan Wallen
I guess kissing me kind of went to his head
If you want my secret to success
I suggest don't go ATVing with him when you're out west
The song gets that title because when she wrote it she had 57.5 million followers on Spotify. That number is quickly approaching 60 million.
One man who only got love poured on him was Lana's fiancé, Jeremy Dufrene, the 49-year-old father of two, who we can only assume inspired her for another of her live debuts, "Husband of Mine."
How did I get so lucky?
You are like a combination of my favorite things, buddy
More Clint Eastwood than him without trying
You feel like you're summer, babe
You got me singing on Clementine
As much as the crowd were pleased to hear the new music, just listen to them let loose on her older hits like "Video Games."
Lady Gaga can trend all over Twitter with her complicated choreography, costumes, and dramatics, but Lana effortlessly gets similar love from her fans simply by swaying on a swing.
It's really a shame Lana is so uninterested in touring because she could sell out anywhere, any time, and it'd be shocking if the reaction wouldn't be the same as what she saw and heard in the desert.
Lana only has seven more dates scheduled so far this year. Can you imagine a Chappell Roan + Lana + Doechii stadium world tour?
That seems like a dream that will never manifest, so get your tickets to see LDR while you can by snagging tix from her website.
[Ed. note: The photo is from Jelly Roll's Stagecoach set, which Lana joined for the final song.]
