Anyone wandering downtown Nashville on October 2nd who happened to be unfamiliar with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan might have thought a dress code was in place for the evening’s festivities at Bridgestone Arena. The audience hitting the “Sweat” tour, a 2024 joint outing from the two artists, was remarkably coordinated; if it wasn’t a neon green outfit, it was black leather. If it wasn’t skinny sunglasses, it was smudged eyeliner and fishnets. Not every event pulls a group this in sync — let alone one that could make a crowd in Tennessee look more like the line outside a Berlin nightclub — but the “Sweat” tour has become one of the pop destinations of the year.
Brat Summer might be over as we move into autumn, but the shadow of BRAT, Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, still hovers over all of us as memes and viral snippets from the LP continue to make the rounds. The hyperpop hitmaker linked up with the Aussie multi-hyphenate for the tour, and the result is a thrilling spectacle that transforms arenas into full-on raves. Do not attend the “Sweat” tour if haven’t already ordered a trusty pair of show earplugs; don’t attend the “Sweat” tour if you have a bad time with flashing lights. Also, don’t attend the “Sweat” tour if you’re not ready to dance.
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While some co-headline tours switch which act opens and which closes each night, these two trade off the spotlight every few songs to form a series of acts. In Nashville, it felt like people were equally excited to see both artists, but if there were any audience members who leaned more towards one discography, the structure remained immensely fun; Charli XCX’s utterly feral club approach offset Sivan’s dance party offerings, where he’s backed by six incredible dancers almost every time he’s onstage.
Sivan’s set was mostly comprised of cuts from his warm, seductive 2023 album Something to Give Each Other, an exploration of queer joy and sensuality. Sivan has a solid discography, but this tour pushes him into full-on pop star territory; his focus on choreography and theatrics involved plenty of behind-the-scenes preparation, and the results were impressive. Whether with the buzzy “Got Me Started,” desperate and sexy “One Of Your Girls,” or playfully messy “In My Room,” the vibes never slipped.
Each time we cut over to Charli XCX, though, we shifted into something unhinged and frantic. While Sivan offers the more polished approach to pop performance, there’s something deeply riveting about the savage stagings Charli XCX created for BRAT. The set, too, aided the balance, with both artists utilizing a main stage with an enormous cage structure, a runway, and two alcove balconies. Perhaps the most inspired design choice was lighting the walkway underneath the runway to the b-stage, making it another cage where both artists could interact with the pit.
The setup made it feel like the party never stopped. A song from Sivan would end, only for a spotlight to turn to Charli XCX on one of the balconies; if she dipped under the stage to have the camera trail her down to the cage beneath the stage, Sivan would be there to wave as she passed.