Lana Del Rey officially kicked off her UK & Ireland tour with a spellbinding show at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium offered stage theatrics and visual effects and a night that felt more like a surreal Country Western dream than your average concert.
London Grammar was announced just days before the show as Lana’s support, and it proved to be a perfect pairing. They opened with “Hey Now,” echoing haunting vocals across the stadium and drawing the crowd into their cinematic sound from the very first note. A stripped-back acoustic moment midway through brought a hush over the crowd, before they closed on a powerful rendition of Strong. All this took place in front of Lana’s mysterious stage setup large black drapes covering something big, sparking whispers across the crowd.
When London Grammar left the stage, the curtains finally came down to reveal the surreal set Lana had in store: a life-size blue house straight out of the ranches of the deep-south, surrounded by trees, fairy lights, and leafy benches for the orchestra. It looked like a scene from Little House on the Prairie, with soft porch lights glowing, whimsical and nostalgic all at once.
Of course, true to form, Lana kept us waiting. Though she was billed for 8:30pm, it was closer to 9:10pm when the show finally began. But no one in the stadium seemed to mind. After all, Lana Del Rey runs on Lana Time and the payoff was worth it.
First came the orchestra and backing vocalists, all dressed in white. Then, her husband Jeremy Dufrene emerged to give a quiet wave of the cap, a subtle signal that she was on her way. Lana entered the stage through the front door of the house as an instrumental of Stars Fell On Alabama played, turning the mood almost cinematic.
You could sense the emotion from the start. Lana told the crowd this was her first big tour since getting married, a moment that felt intimate, despite the 60,000-capacity stadium. She walked to her husband for a gentle kiss, wiping away a tear of joy, before launching into Henry, Come On, surrounded by a swirl of storm clouds and soft-focus visuals overhead.
At one point, she even disappeared into the house and reappeared at a window to perform , which i am sure it was pre-recorded, either way, it worked. The set blurred the line between stage and storybook.
Just when the atmosphere had drifted into total serenity, Lana jolted the energy back into the room with a gritty, rock-infused performance of Born To Die. The guitars hit harder, the vocals soared, and suddenly the stadium felt electric again.
She followed it with 57.5, one of her newer songs, during which she dropped down to the barrier, taking time to talk to fans face to face , a quiet moment of connection with the front Standing.
What came next felt completely off-script , after fans requested Salvatore, which she honoured with a brief, almost rogue a cappella rendition. Singing directly to to front row audience, Lana delivered a deep, soulful take in her signature smooth tone, creating a moment that felt just for them — and yet unforgettable for everyone around.
As she waved goodbye and slipped back into the house, it was clear Lana hadn’t just performed in Cardiff — she had invited the whole city into her world for a night of emotion, nostalgia, and theatrical beauty.
With the bar now set incredibly high, the rest of the tour has a lot to live up to.
