Charli xcx arrived in Brooklyn on Monday night for her Music, Fashion, Film Tour, and the performance showed that her present phase holds together better than its sound might suggest. The stop at Barclays Center was familiar ground — she performed the Brat tour there in 2025, and made a visit to Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden on the Sweat co-headlining tour with Troye Sivan in 2024 — but the atmosphere felt distinct this time around. Charli now blends grungy confessionals, self-aware club anthems and twinkling hyper-pop gems into something that shows they share a common source, and she strings them together in a brilliantly designed live set.
The Rock Music Pivot
The night began with “Rock Music,” the lead single and opening track from the Music, Fashion, Film era. Charli appeared wearing a t-shirt that read “I’ve Had Sex With Charli xcx”, as the song came into focus, and the first “ro-o-o-o-o-ock” Auto-Tune glitch arrived with a brilliant laugh. It’s a brilliant joke that laughs at you for taking it seriously, yet remains far too undeniably cathartic to truly dismiss.
A Secret Song From 2019
Charli had been talking about playing old songs from different albums, and she delivered on that promise with a tour first-timer: “Next Level Charli,” the gleefully bombastic opener from 2019’s underrated Charli set. It’s a valuable reminder that even outside of her most obvious cult favorites, critical favorites and commercial favorites, Charli has an entire catalog of gems always waiting to be dug into.
Brat Classics Medley
“Dying for You,” from Charli’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack released earlier this year, was a much-appreciated “Oh right, this song” selection. But the real moment came when Charli led the set into a quick “You ready?” transition and unleashed a spate of stakes-raising Brat smashes: “Club Classics,” “365,” “360,” “Sympathy Is a Knife” and “Von Dutch.” The fevered Barclays Center crowd was more than prepared to leave anyone behind for the rest of the show.
Unlock It With Kim Petras
Charli doesn’t need an excuse to play “Unlock It,” one of the most beloved songs off her fan-beloved 2017 set Pop 2. But having Kim Petras in the building made it a slam dunk. The song’s special guest feature appeared to swap vocals with her fellow alt-pop paragon, Charli mostly in black, Kim mostly in white. Fans once again wished for some kind of full-project team-up between the two, most likely consisting of nothing but “[Verb] It” song titles.
Vroom Vroom Returns
Hoping Charli would pull some of her older pop classics into the eventual tour setlist? You were out of luck — with one exception that fit the moment perfectly. None of her trio of 2013-14 chart smashes (“Boom Clap,” “Fancy”, or “I Love It”) appeared on the Music, Fashion, Film Tour rundown, but her game-changing 2015 EP title track “Vroom Vroom” did ultimately make the cut. She was in control behind the wheel atop her multi-story stage perch, with her pit crew of backing dancers approximating the race-track action beneath her.
The Setlist and the Opener
Charli’s tour draws on the live set she played across several festival stops, including Chicago’s Lollapalooza in late July. It adds a few more songs to the mix, along with the occasional special guest. The choice to bring Underscores along as an opening act has paid off, with her forward-looking pop songs, full-bodied delivery and impressive emotional connection carrying over to do modern pop’s legacy proud.
On Monday, Charli kept the small talk to a minimum, letting the songs (along with her wild dancing) do most of the talking. Her phalanxes of backing dancers and the live band behind her offered extra emotional weight, and together they produced a standout performance from a pop star who operates just as comfortably as a club kid and underground rocker. All of her identities come together to form one singularly iconic figure in modern music: “It’s Charli, babyyyy…”.
Key Facts Box
– Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn
– Date: Monday, Sept. 14
– Previous Barclays stop: Brat tour, 2025
– Previous Manhattan stop: Sweat co-headline with Troye Sivan, 2024
– Festival debut: Chicago’s Lollapalooza, late July
– “Unlock It” guest: Kim Petras
– Older track featured: “Vroom Vroom” (2015 EP title track)
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