The previous Rock en Seine festival, held on the lower part of the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud outside Paris, began on August 23, 2023, with a headlining performance by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, preceded by concerts by six female musicians and their bands.
This year, the formula was identical, with another American star, Lana Del Rey, performing on Wednesday, August 21, for the only date in France of her six concerts in Europe in May, June and late August. It was an eventful evening for the 20th edition of the festival owned in equal parts by Combat, the media and cultural activities arm of businessman Matthieu Pigasse (a member of the Supervisory Board of Groupe Le Monde), and AEG Presents France, one of the branches of American music, sports and entertainment events giant AEG.
The evening was announced as being sold out shortly after tickets went on sale, at the end of December 2023, on the basis of the singer-songwriter's name alone. Of the six other performances preceding Del Rey's, the Firestone stage featured Irish singer Nell Mescal, whose warm voice oscillates between folk and pop, and Yoa, whose energetic electro accompaniment sometimes veers toward African evocations. And on the main stage was Pomme, set against a backdrop of moss and giant mushrooms, a sensitive performer, attentive to melodic construction, and the creator of a dreamlike universe.
At 10:15 pm, the clamor of the audience accompanied the entrance – scheduled for 9:45 pm – of Lana Del Rey. The songs "Body Electric," "Without You" and "West Coast" followed one another, sung in chorus by the fans in the front rows who had waited for hours for access to the site to open in the middle of the afternoon, to rush to the front of the main stage and stay there. The same went for the rest of the setlist, from the oldest tracks (including "Born to Die," "Video Games") to the most recent ("The Grants," "A&W").
She was joined by a small band of guitar, bass and drums, led by keyboardist Byron Thomas, three backing singers and a dozen dancers who twirled, spread out on balconies held up by columns, moving in an expansive manner. They contrasted with the singer's restraint, slow movements and gestures.
The show was built between simple moments, with Del Rey at center stage, and well-crafted scenes. During "Pretty When You Cry," she and her dancers appeared on the big screen lying on the stage, filmed in a vertical shot, with waves superimposed, as in a sequence of geometric ballets from musicals directed by Busby Berkeley (1895-1976). During "Ride," she sat on a swing in the shape of a circle. And for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club," she moved through billowing white veils and large fans wielded by the dancers. And even as a hologram.
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