Smoke emerged from a small white ring atop a pyramid-like structure, strobe lights flashed and the crowd chanted as Charli xcx walked onstage holding a mic and a stand.
Charlotte Emma Aitchison, known as Charli xcx, took the American Express stage Friday as the headliner of day one of Austin City Limits Music Festival. Filled with old, new and bratty music, the performance turned ACL into a club.
Opening with “Rock Music,” a song that’s anything but, xcx stunned in a black corset and leather pants, continuing with “Yeah” from her latest album Music, Fashion, Film. The large screens showing the massive audience graphics matching vibe changes in the performance.
“Apple” brought welcome cheers, audience members participating in the popular TikTok dance trend associated with the song while Charli showed off moves of her own, rolling her hips and suggestively grabbing her chest. “Wink Wink” took an ironic twist, the singer claiming she’s “not a bad girl anymore” while playing with her hair and dancing on her mic stand.
Stepping away from her opening location, xcx proved she’s a performer, not just a singer, strutting with her dancers as though on a runway through “Card Declined,” embodying high fashion while singing about consumerism. After a brief pause, Charli returned to the stage in a short black and white dress for “Blame It on Your Love.”
An extravagant dance break excited fans as xcx transitioned into “Girl, so confusing.” Her all-girl ensemble of dancers followed her around, grinding on one another as well as on xcx as stage lights flashed, creating an atmosphere reminding some female attendees of a club bathroom.
“House” came after another intermission, eerie music and a man’s deep voice occupying time until Charli returned, this time in a black skirt, a button-down not fully buttoned and a matching bra. Fire erupted behind her as she left the stage again, introducing Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan.
Sivan’s guest appearance brought screams from the audience and a dazzling performance. Performing his new song “Party” live for the first time, Sivan showed off his dancing with body rolls, isolation and theatrical flair. Unzipping his white jacket, Sivan teased the show’s final message: “oblivion is freedom.”
Returning with hits “Dying for You,” “Club classics” and “365,” xcx kept the hype brought on by her special guest. Pushing the camera away from xcx during “Von dutch,” dancers acted like bodyguards protecting her from paparazzi before “Guess” showed them removing their pants to reveal red underwear reading “XCX.”
Making their stage debut, xcx’s live band stepped onto the pyramid for “If You Take Away The Music Then What Has She Got?,” smoked cigarettes during “2007” and walked around for “Camera.” Leaving the stage with her band, xcx reappeared at the top of the pyramid, sitting on the smoking ring for “party 4 you.”
“Playboy Bunny,” “SS26” and “No One Last Forever” completed the performance as a montage of footage, both recorded and live, played on the screens, leaving festivalgoers with a confusing message.
“THEY ARE DEAD,” a message on the screen read. “THEY ARE GONE. NO ONE LASTS FOREVER.”
