Lana Del Rey, Reneé Rapp Vexed by Technical Issues at U.K. Fest
The U.K.’s Reading & Leeds Festival issued a pair of apologies this weekend to two of the lineup’s biggest acts after technical issues and weather upended sets by Lana Del Rey and Reneé Rapp.
Del Rey headlined Reading on Saturday night and, by all accounts, delivered a terrific set that was unceremoniously cut short. While the songwriter has typically been concluding her shows with “A&W” and “Young and Beautiful,” those songs were scrapped at Reading when Del Rey’s microphone and video screens were turned off, and a fireworks presentation began. According to reports, Del Rey stood onstage and took in the display. (She delivered her full set the following day at Leeds.)
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“Due to an error by the Reading production team we accidentally cut Lana Del Rey’s incredible set short by 5 mins,” organizers said in a statement. “We apologise unreservedly to Lana and her fans.”
On Sunday, Rapp had her own issues at Reading and also had her set truncated. The cause was seemingly the aftereffects of a weekend storm that canceled Rapp’s Friday performance at Leeds. Onstage at Reading, the “Snow Angel” singer was able to play four songs before exiting the stage after “Not My Fault.” At one point, water poured off the top of the stage and onto Rapp. “Guys, I really really really wanna give you a good show,” she reportedly told the crowd. “We are drenched. Some of our equipment is fucked.”
Again, Reading issued an apology: “We would like to thank Reneé Rapp for her perseverance and professionalism amidst the technical difficulties we have had to continue to deal with from Storm Lilian. We are desperately hoping, like you, that she will come back to R&L in the future.”
Rapp returns to the road in September with shows in New York and Columbia, Maryland. Del Rey, meanwhile, is gearing up for the release of her country album Lasso.
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