On June 20, 2024, Lana Del Rey was scheduled to perform at Fenway in Boston. In the week prior, fans already speculated that the show would be canceled or postponed due to extreme heat, but in fact the opposite was true. Despite the near 100 degree heat, fans cooled down immediately when skies turned gray and rain began to pour only minutes before Lana was supposed to make her stage debut. As the first crack of thunder sounded across the venue, a monumental groan sounded across the thousands of fans who knew this was the start of a long night. For me, however, the fun had just begun!
The majority of the fans attending this concert were completely (and understandably) outraged by the 2+ hour delay and shortening of the show. I, too, was annoyed, but deep down I understood that I, a mere mortal, cannot control the weather. I made the most of my time with my best friend, despite having to shelter within a hot, crowded Fenway. To make matters worse, there was no wifi *gasp*. Even minutes into the delay, fans and their families were already booking it out of the venue. I still made the most of my time and the money I spent on the concert. During the delay, Lana herself posted a poll on her Instagram story, asking fans if they would prefer her to wait it out and then perform, or postpone the show completely until the following Saturday, 2 days later.
In the end, at 10:30, she went on. She even brought on Mason Ramsey (“yodel kid”), Stephen Sanchez, and Quavo in the shortened performance. Additionally, she sang 15 songs, which is a completely appropriate amount of songs for a full-length concert, let alone one that had been delayed over 2 hours.
The following day, chaos still ensued virtually. Many fans were incredibly upset that Lana and her agency had the nerve to delay and shorten her concert.
“that was a miserable experience. her performance was nice but you could tell how annoyed she was about the curfew. They delayed that way too long without giving us any answers. All the working staff were actually useless because they had zero idea about anything at all about today’s show. We really do deserve at the very least a partial refund. She says she’s gonna give us the two hour show we deserve but we all know that’s gonna be like next year on our own coin lol. She really should’ve given us the Saturday show man”
Anonymous -ehquzo- via Reddit
Others say that buyers should expect the unexpected when purchasing tickets to an outdoor venue.
“Tbh it was still a great show – the entitlement has been a lot. I was in the upper pavilion and the wait wasn’t too bad since it was open air coverage in the concession area. Once she got on stage it was a solid set and she sounded amazing. The weather is uncontrollable and that’s always the risk with an outdoor venue. I’m glad she still played!”
Anonymous sadboitearz via Reddit
When going to a concert, always go with people that you know you’ll have a good time with, even if that means spending 2 hours with them huddled together with no wifi during a thunderstorm.