Posted on
2025-07-04
On Thursday, July 3rd, Lana Del Rey made her long awaited Wembley Stadium debut, playing the first show of her 2 night run at the 90,000 capacity sold out venue, her biggest UK performance to date. Her UK and Ireland tour ended on what felt like a kind of homecoming. As, unbeknownst to many, London was once a place Lana called home, reminiscing in the past about her times frequenting the beauty shops of Kingsland Road, after the release of her debut album Lana Del Rey, where she lived with her manager Ben in Hackney, concocting what would become Born to Die.
Starting the show with a bang, support act, Miss Addison Rae, former TikToker turned pop princess, sashayed onto the stage with her posse of matching backup dancers. All clad in striped, fleshy co-ords by rising London based designer Lucila Safdie. The look was elevated (and thrillingly contrasted) by Louboutin heels, a bold styling choice for dancing that subverted their usual formality whilst still exuding womanhood and a sense of glamour. Her set – young and electric, sultry and dreamily choreographed, featured a tight selection of highlights from her debut album “Addison”, which dropped only a few weeks prior on June 7th. Possessing a familiar hint of Lizzy Grant era Lana, with her blistering newness and total lust for life (no pun intended), it’s hard to conjure up a support act more fitting.
Soon after, Lana Del Rey didn’t just take the stage, she emerged through the front door of a life-sized Southern Gothic house, built onto the stage like the set of an abandoned Tennessee Williams play. A creaking rocking chair sat out front. Lace curtains billowed faintly. Potted plants framed the steps, slightly overgrown, feeling less like a concert and more like stepping into a cinematic dreamscape, where reality dissolves and romantic fantasy reigns supreme. Del Rey swiftly slipped into “Stars Fell on Alabama”, then whispered the aching “Henry, Come On,” songs that were both once tied to the ever mythic country
album “Lasso”. Yet, this is typical Lana – timelines shift, tracks leak, albums vanish. That refusal to be derailed, the looseness in how she navigates fame and creativity is what makes her feel so authentic, and why her fans flock with such ease. She sang to a sea of devotees decked out in full Lana drag – think veiled brides, ribboned ’60s bouffants, and heart-shaped
sunglasses, while Lana herself appeared on stage in a custom Alessandro Michele Valentino ensemble. Despite the grandeur, she kept it intimate, real. During her costume changes, her presence was replaced by a hologram of her flickering through a window, distantly watching as tracks played on. Both theatrical and tender, perfectly capturing how she exists both inside and outside her own mythology.
From the smoky haze of “Chemtrails” to the aching pull of “Ultraviolence” and the cinematic swirlings of “Ride”, Lana wove a spellbinding dreamscape that felt equal parts haunting and hypnotic. Her voice, drenched in velvety nostalgia, carrying the crowd through weaving tapestries of emotion. Closing with a golden hued “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, Lana left Wembley wrapped in a glow of longing and glamour. Watching Lana at Wembley felt less like witnessing a star at her peak and more like being welcomed into the quiet, golden hour of her life. She seemed peaceful, There was a softness to her presence, a sense that she’s
no longer performing pain but simply existing in whatever comes next. What we saw wasn’t the hunger of a woman trying to make her mark, it was the grace of someone who alreadyh as, and now gets to just be. After all the mythology and melodrama, maybe the most radical thing Lana Del Rey can do now is enjoy her life. And from where I was standing, it looked like she finally was.
Photography – Gareth Cattermole
