Lana Del Rey performed her first show in the Pittsburgh area at The Pavilion At Star Lake in Burgettstown last Tuesday, Oct. 3. It was the ninth stop of her brief tour, which kicked off in Tennessee in September and finished in West Virginia last Thursday.
Del Rey arrived to a sold out crowd of over 22,000 fans belting her lyrics and wearing outfits inspired by her album covers, with some even wearing Waffle House-inspired uniforms. Fans adorned in flower crowns, cowgirl boots and ribbons filled the seats of the amphitheater and lawn. Before the concert began, the venue was buzzing with excitement.
The energy was electric, with fans chanting her name until Del Rey appeared in a white dress, singing the opening notes to “Norman f—ng Rockwell.” Throughout the show, she played songs spanning her decade-long career. The crowd was euphoric, and some fans were even brought to tears when she played “Ride,” a 2012 song accompanied by images of her journey through the industry.
Since this was Lana Del Rey’s first time performing in Pittsburgh, it was many Pitt students’ first experience seeing her live. Some fans traveled from other states and even countries to see her in Pittsburgh, but a lot of Pitt students also relished the opportunity to see her somewhere so close to campus.
Sarina Goyal, a junior law, criminal justice and society and economics major, had waited to see Del Rey live since she became a fan in middle school and fell in love with her album “Ultraviolence.”
“I started listening to Lana in middle school and back then I just really loved the sound of her voice,” Goyal said. “As I got older I really started listening to the lyrics, and that’s when I was really able to connect with the songs.”
Margaux Rentzel, a junior communications and rhetoric major, said she enjoyed hearing songs from her favorite Lana Del Rey album, her debut “Born To Die.”
“I love her coquette vibes and I think she’s a really good role model. I think she does everything for the meme and takes nothing seriously, and I totally agree with her mindset,” Rentzel said.
Every time Del Rey acknowledged Pittsburgh, the crowd roared. When performing “Pretty When You Cry,” she substituted Pittsburgh into the lyrics. Fans of Del Rey know she is a woman of very few words, especially at her shows — but she appeared to feel sentimental about the upcoming conclusion of her tour and gave a brief speech.
“It’s our second to last show after five months … I thought we could take a minute to put our wishes on the table just for a second … because 22,000 heads are better than one,” Del Rey said, with the moonlight illuminating her. “I just wanted to say a quick little blessing to the powers that be that every single person who has their own individual dream may know that every person’s heart desire is a God-given desire and it’s not selfish to want whatever you want.”
Cameron Hyde, a junior psychology and communications and rhetoric major, saw Lana Del Rey, her favorite artist, for the first time that night. Her favorite song was “Video Games,” which Del Rey sang on a swing covered in flowers. The swing is a staple of Del Rey’s concerts, accompanying the lyric “swingin’ in the backyard.” Wearing a white lace dress inspired by Del Rey’s song “White Dress,” Hyde said the concert felt surreal.
“I’ve been waiting to see Lana for a really long time and her coming to Pittsburgh just doesn’t feel real,” Hyde said. “I can’t believe she sang “Diet Mountain Dew,” because I don’t think she’s played it on this tour yet.”
Del Rey concluded the show with the title track of her newest album “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” As Del Rey and the crowd chanted the chorus, the audience illuminated the stage with thousands of phone flashlights.
Lana Del Rey said her goodbyes, hoping her fans were able to leave the concert with newfound love.
“Just to end it, if anyone came in lonely, I hope they found somebody. If anybody came with their boyfriend I hope that they fell in love with their girlfriend by watching them fall in love with the music,” Del Rey said.