Charli XCX is effortlessly cool. That’s never been in question. But following the cultural phenomenon that was Brat, even one of pop music’s most exciting artists faces the difficult task of following up an era that felt impossible to escape.
Taking the American Express Stage at 8:35pm Friday for weekend two, Charli brought her Music, Fashion, Film Tour to a crowd eager to experience the next chapter of her career. The result was a fun, visually compelling show that, despite its highlights, never quite reached the heights of her previous tour.
Having seen Charli on the Brat Tour at Austin’s Moody Center last year, the difference was noticeable. That arena performance felt electric, with an energy that carried through the entire night. At ACL, something was missing.
The crowd seemed somewhat disconnected at times, coming alive most noticeably whenever Charli revisited material from Brat. It’s understandable. The album defined a moment in pop culture, and its songs remain among the most exhilarating in her catalog. While Music, Fashion, Film has plenty to offer, much of its material doesn’t quite deliver the same immediate impact in a live setting. “Rock Music” and “SS26,” however, proved to be notable exceptions.
That’s not to say the production wasn’t impressive. Charli was joined by a large ensemble of dancers who elevated several moments throughout the night, adding another layer of excitement to songs like “Track 10” and “Von Dutch.” The choreography and staging were among the show’s biggest strengths, making even familiar songs feel fresh. Meanwhile, “Sympathy Is a Knife” needed no dancers or elaborate choreography to deliver one of the night’s most euphoric moments. And “party 4 u” once again proved why it’s such a beloved fan favorite, earning its place as a song that should remain a permanent fixture in Charli’s setlists moving forward.
Then came the much-anticipated surprise.
Earlier in the week, Charli had teased a special guest for ACL’s second weekend. During the festival’s first weekend, she welcomed Troye Sivan, who performed material from his new album, She’s The Best. Naturally, speculation ran wild about who might appear this time, with Madonna and Billie Eilish among the names circulating online.
Instead, Charli introduced Tinashe.
The timing made the reveal particularly interesting. Charli brought out her guest just before the point in the show typically reserved for “Guess,” her collaboration with Billie Eilish. For a brief moment, anticipation reached a fever pitch, and the possibility of Billie appearing seemed very real.
When Tinashe emerged, there was a palpable sense of surprise, and perhaps a little disappointment among those expecting a different guest. But that shouldn’t take anything away from Tinashe, who delivered a genuinely entertaining performance featuring songs from her latest (might I add critically acclaimed) album, Popstar: “Melatonin” and “Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore.”
“ACL, uplift her,” Charli told the audience while introducing her.
It was a fitting sentiment. Tinashe is enjoying a well-deserved moment of recognition, and seeing Charli use her platform to spotlight another artist was very cool.
Still, the evening’s most memorable moment came at the very end.
As “No One Lasts Forever” brought the show to a close, Charli and her dancers stood posed onstage, holding their positions for what felt like minutes. The words “they are dead. they are gone. no one lasts forever” repeated over and over, creating an unexpectedly haunting atmosphere.
The song features a spoken monologue from filmmaker David Cronenberg exploring art, immortality, and the freedom that comes with recognizing that nothing, and no one, lasts forever.
It was a stunning conclusion, made even more poignant by the circumstances surrounding Charli’s career.
After the overwhelming success of Brat, any follow-up was bound to face extraordinary expectations. The reception to Music, Fashion, Film has been different, and Friday’s performance reflected some of that disconnect. The audience still loves Charli, but the cultural electricity of the Brat era isn’t something that can simply be recreated on demand.
Perhaps that’s exactly the point.
There was something moving about watching an artist who helped define an entire cultural moment close her performance with a meditation on impermanence. Trends fade. Eras end. Even the biggest moments in pop culture eventually become memories.
Charli XCX may never have another Brat summer. And maybe she doesn’t need one.
For all its uneven moments, her ACL performance ended with a reminder that there’s freedom in moving forward, even when the world isn’t quite ready to let go of what came before.