Lana Del Rey just went on tour throughout most of the southern states of the Bible Belt –Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and most importantly: Mississippi. She traveled all the way to Brandon to perform at the amphitheater and the little town welcomed her with open arms. The mayor of Brandon, Butch Lee, even gave her the honor of a tour of the backroads of Brandon, which was posted all over Del Rey’s Instagram, @honeymoon. She loves to do spontaneous things such as this, popping up in random, rural places all over the map. She once even worked at a Waffle House in Alabama as a server for a day, surprising fans who came to dine. 

Most fans in Mississippi were astonished to discover that a huge singer was coming to the small town of Brandon. Just like when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets were released, Ticketmaster was flooded with fans trying to get tickets. They were sold out in minutes, especially considering how small the Brandon Amphitheater is. Fans who did get tickets were ecstatic to go to the concert. 

Nikki Lane opened up the night with her country ballads. For those who don’t know 

Lane, she was featured in Del Rey’s song “Breaking Up Slowly” from her album Chemtrails Over the Country Club. She sang a few of her hits until it was time for Lana to enter the stage. Her ethereal presence lit up the amphitheater as she arrived in her beautiful black, flowy dress. She opened with a snippet of “Norman F***ing Rockwell”, one of her big hits. “A&W” was next, with its booming beats heard from everywhere in the stadium. Then the relaxing tune of “Young and Beautiful” soothed the audience, serenading all who could listen. Other well known songs she performed were “Bartender,” “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” “The Grants,” “Pretty When You Cry,” “Ride,” “Blue Jeans,” “Arcadia,” “Ultraviolence,” “Cherry,” “Born to Die,” “Diet Mountain Dew,” “Summertime Sadness,” “Video Games,” “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd,” and then she closed with “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have- but i have it.” Del Rey gave her background singers a solo in “The Grants,” which blessed the audience with their beautiful vocals. She, of course, included her infamous “Ride” music video monologue right before she sang it. Accompanying all of the songs were gorgeous video montages playing behind her as she sang, featuring snippets from Del Rey’s music videos and pieces of the classic Americana culture one would associate with her music. Del Rey also sat on her flowery swing for “Video Games” and swung over the crowd as she sang. Furthermore, she sang a cover of “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette, which included a cute dance with a few couples. She and her dancers performed many artistic and intriguing dances to most of her songs that fans would not soon forget. Towards the end of her show, she went down and met many lucky fans in the front row of the pit. Displayed on the screens, people in other parts of the amphitheater could see the tears and happiness of the supporters that Del Rey decided to talk to. It was a very heartwarming part of the concert. Del Rey gave Mississippi quite a show, and fans hope that she will return soon enough. 

Most people know that pit concert tickets are hard to come by, especially for smaller venues. Fans that managed to snag pit seats still had to fight for their spot at the front, which caused the diehard followers of Del Rey to camp out at the amphitheater for hours before the show. Many Prep students were part of the people who camped out, getting there as early as 11 p.m. the day before the concert even started. London Horn, a sophomore, remembers the struggles of camping out, saying she had to “sleep on the concrete with a stuffed animal as a pillow and two sweatshirts as a blanket.” Nevertheless, she says it was “so worth it” because she got in the front row and was able to touch Del Rey as she walked by. Another concert attendee and avid Lana Del Rey fan, senior Jacob Willis, recalls how he camped for 20 hours, but “it was so amazing and worth it. She was beautiful, and I was in shock the entire time.” Obviously Lana Del Rey is 100% worth any amount of time and pain.