“The great news comes like an early Christmas present.“On December 8, 2023, the Rock en Seine festival revealed in a post on X its big headliner for the 2024 edition: Lana Del Rey. It’s official, the American star is therefore in Saint-Cloud for her only visit to France this year. The fans are not mistaken: the 40,000 tickets on sale are selling out in a flash. For these listeners, who often discovered the artist during their adolescence, it was impossible to miss such an event. Several months have passed, Lana Del Rey is performing on August 21. We collected the testimony of five fans before the big night.
First, there are those who have never seen a Lana Del Rey performance.When I saw the ad, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I hadn’t managed to get a ticket for the Olympia, I was disgusted“, says Kléden, 24. Like him, 42,000 people had tried to get their ticket to see Lana Del Rey during her concert at the Olympia in Paris in July 2023. As the venue did not have the capacity to accommodate all of Lana Del Rey’s fans, only 2,800 seats had been put on sale.
For many fans, this single small date in France in 2023 had generated frustration.I tried to get tickets for the Olympia with four computers, but it didn’t even work“, laughs Camille, 22, today. On Wednesday, she too will see Lana Del Rey for the first time. A long-standing wish.”I’ve been waiting for this for several years. I had bought tickets for a concert in Paris in 2020, but it didn’t happen in the end“. The American artist, who fell ill at the beginning of 2020, had then cancelled her European tour.
Others have already had the chance to see their favorite singer.She’s the artist I’ve been listening to the longest, I find she gets better with time. It’s hard to describe the experience, but a Lana Del Rey concert is something you experience very personally.“, confides Guillaume, 26, who witnessed two performances by the American in France, last year at the Olympia and at the Parisian festival Lollapalooza in 2017.
It was there that Méline, now 24, also attended her first concert by the singer of Video Games. “I was 17, it was the first time I went away alone. I remember my mother was worried sick. I woke up at 3am, didn’t sleep for over 24 hours, but it was great.“, remembers the woman who came specially from Lyon for the occasion.
For Rock en Seine, she is making the trip again.I managed to get a classic seat, but I moved heaven and earth to finally find a seat in the garden for 189 euros.” explains Méline. A more expensive ticket, which gives her VIP access and ensures a comfortable seat, without having to brave an interminable queue.
For those who only have a classic place, you must already prepare.It’s quite an organization: I took days off to come, and I’m returning to Lille straight after the concert.“, explains Camille. Having arrived from Lille the night before, she was still hesitating between spending the night there, or arriving very early in the morning to be sure of having the experience in good conditions.”I really wouldn’t do it for another artist, it takes a lot of effort.“, assures Camille.”This is the only one I really consider myself a fan of.“, adds Méline.
Precisely, Lana Del Rey, 39 years old and with an already full discography, is not an artist like the others.I really like her voice, her world. I really like artists who go beyond the box, she is unlike any other current musician for me“, points out Kléden, who evokes the comparison with the Mylène Farmer phenomenon in France.
For the five people interviewed, the encounter with Lana Del Rey and her music happened during adolescence. Since then, the artist has accompanied them in their lives, in more or less regular doses.In Summertime Sadness, she romanticized death. HAS At that age, we are searching for ourselves, that probably spoke to a lot of people, that melancholic side“, perceives Nino, who came specially from Brussels to attend the concert planned at Rock en Seine with Guillaume.
All fans praise the remarkable quality of writing and production. As well as concerts that leave a mark on the minds, even for the few less successful ones.She is apart, even on stage“, Kléden emphasizes. In all the singularity that surrounds her character, Lana Del Rey brings people together. To mark her visit to Paris, the American star and her teams have opened a pop-up store temporary.
A pop-up shop to sell some clothes – quite expensive – bearing the image of the artist and his world.It was a bit disappointing, there were a few items, two or three flowers as decoration and a souvenir photo booth.says Méline. I still think it’s nice to offer events like this for fans.“The store still managed to find its audience, creating a queue on the sidewalks of the eleventh arrondissement of Paris.
As of Wednesday morning, August 21, other crowds began to form, on the side of the national domain of Saint-Cloud. The doors of Rock en Seine open at 4 p.m., for a concert scheduled for 9:45 p.m. In the long corridors that form, discussions around a common passion, the world of Lana Del Rey, will certainly help pass the time.
“I met a friend of mine on Twitter in 2012 through Lana Del Rey,” smiles Guillaume. And everyone, alone or accompanied, hopes to make the most of their experience. “I took the initiative to create a group with other fans. There are between ten and twenty of us, including people who come from other parts of France“, explains Kléden. Everyone is waiting this evening to create new memories, their eyes fixed on this artist who has already accompanied them so much throughout their lives.