Lana Del Rey’s First UK Stadium Tour: A Glasgow Review

Written by Charlotte Lewis

On June 26th, something truly special happened, I saw Lana live in Glasgow, my hometown. We dressed up in white dresses and cowboy boots, cracked open a couple of BuzzBallz, and made our way to Hampden Park, fully hoping to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-released Lasso album in action. Lana Del Rey kicked off her UK stadium tour in Cardiff on June 23rd and wrapped it up in London on July 4th.

As a longtime Lizzy Grant fan and full-time Barrie-James (yes, that Barrie) loyalist, seeing Lana perform in the city she once called home just felt completely right. Honestly, what better backdrop than Glasgow; the unofficial spiritual home of so many of her hits?

We made our way to the Golden Circle, hearts racing. Banks opened the show but was mostly talked over by the crowd. Personally, I would’ve preferred to see Addison Rae, but hey, it is what it is.

Then Lana appeared—a little late (classic Lana), but not outrageously so. And when I say I cried multiple times, I really mean it: full-on tears, not just watery eyes. She’s the only artist who’s ever had that effect on me. When Ultraviolence started, a song she hadn’t been performing for a while due to controversy, I was completely away again.

The setlist wasn’t her strongest, but there were moments of real magic. Her covers of Stand By Your Man and Take Me Home, Country Roads hit hard. Her mic was loud and clear (at least from where we were at the front), and her voice sounded even better than I remembered from Primavera and Leeds Fest when I saw her last year.

Visually, the stage was beautiful; dreamy, soft, and exactly the kind of understated drama that suits her. Anyone saying it looked low effort just doesn’t get it. The bayou, swamp-house vibe perfectly captures the stage of life she’s in now with her new husband, alligator swamp tour guide Jeremy Dufrene. And her dress? Like a ghost bride drifting through one of her songs.

The only disappointment was no special song or shoutout for Glasgow. No California, no Blackest Day, nothing to acknowledge the city she lived in, wrote about, and I’d like to think still feels connected to. I guess while she and Barrie are on good terms, with collaborations like Riverside, he’s still her ex, and I wouldn’t want to perform songs about an ex in front of my current husband either. I even thought about going to Barrie’s gig at Oran Mor that weekend just to check if he was okay…

Lana’s connection to Glasgow runs deeper than a tour stop. Back in the early 2010s, during her relationship with Barrie, she basically became an honorary Glaswegian, spotted in a Celtic top, browsing the aisles of the Shawlands Co-op, and even having a pint in Oran Mor. From strutting through Central Station to shopping in the West End, she really lived the city. She once said Glasgow made her happiest, and Glasgow showed the love in return.

Surrounded by my best friends, and a lot of very emotional teenagers, the energy in the crowd was something else. It was one of those rare nights where everything feels a bit unreal. Lana isn’t just an artist; she’s a true celebrity in that Old Hollywood sense. The 20 minutes she spent at the end greeting fans? That’s real star power, ethereal and otherworldly.

An unforgettable night in the city that made her sad songs even sadder, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.