Charli xcx's Reading set blends new rock direction with festival spectacle
Charli xcx performed at Reading Festival, showcasing tracks from her latest album 'Music, Fashion, Film' with a live band. The set included songs like 'Rock Music' and 'Card Declined', featuring a large cast of dancers on a multi-storey set. Her appearance was her only UK festival show this summer.
The performance marked a deliberate break from her Brat era, with a live band backing guitar-driven micro-rock from her new album. A three-storey scaffolding set and large dancer cast created a theatrical backdrop, while her sunglasses remained fixed throughout the show. The setlist balanced new material with a condensed run of Brat hits, including Von Dutch and Guess, where underwear fell from above.
Her Reading appearance was her only UK festival show this summer, following a Glastonbury set the previous year. The performance also featured a duet with John Cale, whose recorded voice introduced their collaborative track House. Dedicated fans were rewarded with Track 10, a 2017 fan favourite, though the set left little room for deeper catalogue exploration.
This performance illustrates how major pop artists increasingly use festival slots to debut new creative directions rather than relying on established hits. The shift from electronic dance-pop to live-band rock could influence how other artists approach festival appearances, potentially reshaping audience expectations for pop headliners. Fans may find themselves divided between nostalgia for earlier eras and appreciation for artistic evolution, which could affect how future tours are structured and marketed to different segments of an artist's following.