A Perfect End To Sad Girl Summer: Lana Del Rey At Leeds Festival Review

Words: Ruby Corrigan

Hot Girl Summer This, Hot Girl Summer that, when it comes to those three gorgeous months in the middle of the year, I tend to adopt the ‘sad girl summer’ persona, and Lana Del Rey’s headline set at Leeds Sunday just gone was the perfect way to round off the season.

Now, I can’t talk about Lana’s set and not talk about her stage set up because it was BEAUTIFUL. From the incredible framework at the back of the stage that replicated the interior of a cathedral, to the poles on which she had dancers twirling around throughout the entirety of her set, it was safe to say that the singer wins the award for the most creative use of a festival stage, because of this, I can almost forgive her for being 10 minutes late.

I’ll be honest, regarding her punctuality, I did not have high hopes. I think everyone and their mother knows about her Glastonbury performance and how she had her mic cut off due to how late she was, and honestly, seeing the fiasco of her performance in Reading the night before, I was feeling ever so slightly nervous. Nevertheless, Lana pulled through for Leeds, despite greeting us with ‘Hello London’, and delivered us a heart wrenching set of her most popular songs that got the entire crowd going, as well as playing a few lesser known gems that really seemed to ignite a real sense of camaraderie in the die hard fans (myself included) as we all sang — and sobbed — along together.

A stand out song from her set for me had to be ‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have’. Is this my favourite Lana song? Yes. Does that make me biased? Slightly. However it is undeniable that the raw emotion Lana delivered during the performance of this tune was otherworldly. While I do adore the recorded version of this tune as she sounds so flawless on it, being able to hear her vocal cracks, as well as see on her face the effects of her own lyrics on her emotions was truly magical.

Closing the night with her iconic tune ‘Young And Beautfiul’ which features in the popular 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby, Miss Del Rey made sure that her set would not be forgotten, playing the alternative ending for the song that sent fans wild, as well as having a fantastic display of fireworks and a can can line with all of her dancers. For me at least, Lana’s set was definitely my favourite of the weekend, and in my eyes she has definitely redeemed herself from her previous reputation of having poor showmanship.