"Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Bring 'Sweat Tour' to Nashville: Concert Review"

On Wednesday night, Nashville ran into it again and again, feeling the rush.

When pop sensation Troye Sivan and “Brat Summer” star Charli

“Apple,” “Von dutch” and “360” electro-pop artist Charli Tour” as a co-headliner at the Bridgestone Arena hit maker.

Troye Sivan and Charli XCX appear at the Sweat Tour kickoff in September 2024.

During the joint tour, the two artists switched off their sets during a 110-minute show, playing no more than four tracks before handing the microphone back to the other artist. For a few highly anticipated songs, XCX and Sivan took the stage together.

The two musical collaborators and friends kicked off their 21-date tour on September 14th in Detroit and stopped in Nashville for their tenth show of the series. The joint tour is the largest headlining arena tour for both artists and marks significant career highlights for both.

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Sivan's October 2023 album Something To Give To Each Other received two Grammy nominations and worldwide recognition.

And as for XCX – it's been almost impossible to ignore their impact on the music scene and pop culture in general as the social phenomenon “Brat Summer” swept the planet in 2024 following the release of their album “Brat” in June.

More:Is Kamala Harris having a “brat summer”? What it means and why their 2024 campaign is taking it up

The album became synonymous with a lime green hue, a lifestyle filled with party-girl fun, smudged eyeliner and uncompromising – even brazen – confidence. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris even endorsed “Brat” and used the font and color in her campaign.

As Charli XCX's fame skyrocketed, many fans wondered if touring together was the best decision for her career. But on Tuesday, the highly collaborative nature of the show was anything but disappointing.

Here are the highlights of the evening.

Charli XCX brings “Club Classics” and turns Nashville into a discotheque

Fans cheered loudly when they saw Charli XCX at the peak of her career – and she turned heads.

XCX transported Nashville to what felt like a European nightclub full of lightning, heavy bass, and unpredictable beats and blares.

A giant “Brat” banner fell around a stage and jutted out into the audience, and as anticipation grew, the sheet dropped to reveal XCX in a wedding veil, white bodysuit and her signature sunglasses.

Throughout the evening, XCX wore a new outfit almost every time she took the stage: a tight orange dress, a tattered long skirt, and several pairs of edgy, knee-high boots.

Charli kicked off her show with the hit “365” along with show opener Shygirl, taking the audience into a high-energy, aggressive exercise in the best of electronic dance-pop. Flashing lights rained down on crowd favorites like “Von Dutch,” “Club Classics,” and the darker “Sympathy is a Knife.”

During her performance, XCX was chaotic and hectic, but in a cool girl way.

She kicked and punched the air, climbed onto railings and stage equipment, grabbed and shook the metal cage under the catwalk. She was grinding and thrusting and twisting in a raw and aggressive, yet sensual way.

Their lawless stage presence seemed to suggest: hyperpop entertainers can go over rock stars too.

In a sexually charged performance of “Guess,” Charli licked the glass stage below her and a camera streamed the footage from below as she sang, “You wanna guess the color of my underwear?” Fans went wild.

During “Apple,” XCX called on photographers to capture fans doing the viral TikTok dance to the song, showing the stream backstage as she sang. The older hit “Spring Breakers” had the audience going wild.

“Nashville, you’re just as sexy as Troye Sivan tonight,” she said.

Sivan gets the rush and a hoedown

While Sivan is a global pop star, the sea of ”Brat” shirts in the audience suggested there were plenty of fans there for XCX. First, as the two performers quickly switched stages, a few disoriented audience members came in and out depending on who was on stage.

One criticism of the tour is the fact that the quick compromises between the stars resulted in a clunky, whip-smart show that was difficult to follow at times.

XCX was unpolished and, well, brat. Sivan's set was perfectly choreographed and thoughtfully designed. But for some audience members, the onstage compromises may resemble XCX's music: exhilarating, unpredictable and attention-grabbing.

Some critics have declared that XCX's “Sweat Tour” was stolen, but Sivan seemed up to the challenge.

He opened the show with “Got Me Started” alongside six backup dancers wearing an earthy tank top and beige fringed pants. Like

The songs “My My My!”, “One of Your Girls” and “STUD” featured high-energy dance combinations full of steamy moments that celebrated the queer community and sensuality. Sivan shuffled, tumbled and jumped with his dancers – clearly influenced by acts like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Britney Spears.

Sivan went into overdrive for the encore song “Honey,” wearing an American flag tank top and a bright cowboy hat alongside his entourage, also wearing cowboy hats, as they performed a line dance to the song.

At one point, Sivan even noticed that a Belmont University graduate, Leland, was writing the song “Dance to This” with him. Sivan loved Nashville, he said, and thought the crowd was one of the best on the “Sweat Tour” to date.

And after Charli

But their auras will remain in the city. “Brat Autumn,” anyone?

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's Nashville “Sweat” setlist

Act I – Troye Sivan:

Got me started
What time do you have?
My, my, mine!

Act I – Charli XCX:

365 remix with easyfun and shygirl
360
From Dutch

Act II – Troye Sivan:

In my room
Dance to it
Angry teenager!

Act II – Charli XCX

Club classic
Unlock it
Compassion is a knife
Guess

Act III – Troye Sivan:

“Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Bring 'Sweat Tour' to Nashville: Concert Review”

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