Lana Del Rey's "Norman F**king Rockwell" Tour Cameos Keep Getting Better
Del Rey is a master at cultivating nostalgia.
Lana Del Rey has brought tons of incredible guests out on her Norman F**king Rockwell tour, and she's only just getting started.
For her only East Coast date, a performance at Long Island's Jones Beach, Del Rey brought out Sean Lennon for a version of "Tomorrow Never Came" and Adam Cohen, the son of the late Leonard Cohen, for a rendition of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2."
For her stop at LA's Hollywood Bowl, Del Rey brought out Zella Day and Weyes Blood to sing a version of Joni Mitchell's "For Free."
Joan Baez appeared when Lana hit Berkeley, and they sang Baez's hit "Diamonds and Rust."
On November 5th, Del Rey brought out Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie to sing a stunning cover of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark."
She also covered "Don't Know How to Keep Loving You" with Australian indie star Julia Jacklin, introducing a legion of fans to a new artist. Jacklin's songs are less performative and flashy than Del Rey's, but they share a core of cool apathy and mournfulness, so their collaboration felt natural, their voices sounding almost like one.
Del Rey has a history of collaborating with artists alive and dead—and one of her music's strongest suits is the way that it incorporates so many different styles and influences, finding the shared themes and emotions at the heart of each of them.
Recently, she joined Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande for their song "Don't Call Me Angel," which appears in the Charlie's Angels soundtrack. She also collaborated with Stevie Nicks, A$AP Rocky, and The Weeknd for tracks on her album Lust For Life. She's made duets with Børns and Cat Power, worked with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys on Ultraviolence, and produced all of Norman F**king Rockwell with Jack Antonoff.
Del Rey seems to have a strategic knowledge of the icons of the past, present, and future, and the way she winds revolutionary stars of the 60's with modern themes and 21st century innovators is simply a testament to what we already knew: It's Del Rey's world, and we're just living in it.