What It Was Like at Charli XCX’s Storm King Show: Photos

• I’ve been a Charli XCX superfan for years and saw her when I was 14.
• Now I’m a working adult, but still a superfan. I took the time to see her perform three times this year.
• I even signed up at an outdoor art museum in upstate New York to see their last-minute Storm King set.

In 2017, Charli XCX opened for Halsey on her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom tour. There’s a photo somewhere on the internet: 14-year-old me in ripped black skinny jeans with blue hair and 25-year-old Charli in a holographic pink windbreaker with a high pony.

By this point, Charli had already made her breakthrough three years earlier, in 2014, first with her appearance on Iggy Azalea’s hit single “Fancy” and then with “Boom Clap,” her first Billboard Top 10 single as a featured artist. After releasing her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom and mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2, she was establishing her own niche in the hyperpop genre.

Seven years later, in 2024, everything is different – ​​for both of us.

Charli’s star was already on the rise in 2017, but with the release of her album Brat this summer, he hadn’t yet reached the peak he would reach. As for me, I’m no longer a teenager but a professional on my way to see Charli perform once again, this time at the Storm King Art Center, a world-famous outdoor sculpture garden in upstate New York.

It’s a three-hour drive from my apartment in Brooklyn. I do the hike at 6 a.m. so I have enough time to get to my remote job promptly at 9 a.m. and get some work done. This is the third time in four months I’ve seen the pop star perform, and the second time I’ve managed to fit my fan base around my work schedule.

Every show, from small venues to huge arenas, was worth it. But the Storm King show was my best experience yet and was worth missing some work.

Witnessing Charli XCX’s “Brat” live for the first time felt like more than just a concert — it was a celebration of her rise to pop stardom.

The first time I saw Charli perform this year was at the Brooklyn Paramount on June 11, four days after the release of Brat.

Fans subscribed to the artist’s text chain had received a message on March 24 that read, “I know you hate it when I send you my Tiktoks…there will be no Tiktok tomorrow :).” Sure enough, another text message was sent the next day at 11:01 a.m. – this time a link to the ticketing platform dice.fm.

Tickets sold out within 15 minutes; Luckily I got mine in nine.

A few months later I was there. I knew that the people around me were Charli’s true fans, the ones who already knew all the lyrics, the ones who had already bought her green “Brat” merch. These were the fans who always knew Charli would one day conquer the dance-pop world and were thrilled to be along for the year-long ride.

Julia Fox and Lorde danced above me, and around me thousands of people followed suit. If anything, it felt more like a celebration than a concert.

The Brooklyn Paramount is a relatively small venue—the theater seats 2,700 people—and the intimate show was the perfect introduction to experiencing the album live. Each subsequent show was a completely different, albeit equally exciting, experience.

Despite the last-minute scramble for tickets, the electrifying atmosphere of the “Sweat” tour was worth every moment.

Next, I went to the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia to co-headline Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s “Sweat” tour.

At first I couldn’t get tickets for the “Sweat” tour because they sold out quickly. I figured I could let it go, considering that tickets that retailed for $79.50 before fees were now selling for over $300 and I had already seen Brat live once. But deep down I knew I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

After realizing how much cheaper it would be to see the show anywhere other than New York, I snagged tickets to the Wells Fargo show in Philly for $160, half the price I got from a reseller for would have paid for similar seats in Madison Square Garden. After getting off work at 5pm, I drove straight from work to an 8:30pm show.

Luckily, rush hour traffic didn’t disrupt my plans, and the quick pit stop to change at a random Wendy’s restroom along the way didn’t bother me either.

The energy at this show was completely different than the previous ones. Sivan and Charli XCX know how to wow a crowd. All it took was a “hands up” and thousands of arms flew eagerly into the air. I could have sat anywhere in that arena and felt the same level of passion and joy.

It’s no secret that a smaller venue requires a better show, but the “Sweat” tour was electrifying – even at Wells Fargo’s Section 203, a sold-out arena that held over 16,000 people.

I got a better view at the Brooklyn Paramount, where I spent about $100 less on my ticket, but the second show was still worth every penny and the stressful drive, even if I had to squint a little.

Charli’s intimate performance at Storm King was my best experience yet and the perfect reminder that Brat isn’t just an album – it’s a state of mind.

Charli

The event was thoughtful and surprisingly intimate for such a sprawling outdoor venue, with fewer than 1,000 fans in attendance. (Attendees had to secure their spot by signing up for an RSVP list; Business Insider was able to attend the event as press.)

Special T-shirts were distributed to fans that read “Art” on the front and “Charli XCX at Storm King” on the back in the signature “Brat” font. The beverage company Vitamin Water had set up stations offering drinks. Trucks from local vendors delivered food and alcoholic beverages, some with a “brat” theme. And it was all free.

Just beyond the food and drinks sat a 30-by-30-foot replica of a half-open gatefold cover of her new remix album, due out the next day – and between the back fold of the vinyl sat a DJ concession stand.

Charli soon arrived, stepping out of a black Cadillac Escalade in a fur-trimmed coat and baggy light-wash jeans. She walked to the DJ booth, past hundreds of screaming fans, and played a few songs from her new remix album straight from her iPhone. She took the time to talk to the audience a bit, although she said she hadn’t planned to, and then went straight back into the Escalade – on to her next show for the “Sweat” tour the next day in Denver .

In total she was probably there for about an hour, but she made the most of it.

Charli worked the crowd, walking back and forth behind the green “Brat” booth to the front. She seemed eager to get as close to her fans as possible (which wasn’t too difficult since there was surprisingly no barricade or security).

Everyone was huddled together and Charli was dancing with the crowd like we were all just friends in a bar. I had never experienced anything like that.

But the show didn’t end when Charli left. Fans, journalists and influencers alike stayed and danced as the album played on loop until Storm King staff finally told everyone it was time to go at 6:30 p.m

I didn’t want to go. As he looked around at the red and orange foliage and left Storm King, it felt like he was saying goodbye to something bigger: “Brat” summer itself.

But Charli how to market (and keep) yourself The hype goes far beyond the weather with miniskirts and sunglasses).

I’m excited to see what Charli has in store for the next show I attend. (Hopefully not in the middle of another workday.)