“Thank you for selling this b–ch out,” Charli xcx thanked the Barclays Center crowd on Monday night (Sept. 14). Certainly, Brooklyn made for relatively safe early territory for the alt-pop star’s latest arena trek, as few other areas in the country are more likely to intuitively grasp the combined garage rock, dingy dancefloor and high art energy that comprises Charli’s Music, Fashion, Film era.
Considering that the last time she came through Barclays was on the Brat tour in 2025 — after visiting Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden on the Sweat co-headlining tour with Troye Sivan in 2024 — it’s not surprising that the Music, Fashion, Film Tour felt like a little less of a pop culture event, without the rush of the world’s eyes being on the scene inside the arena in quite the same way. But the overall experience might have been richer, with Charli now able to mix her grungy confessionals with her self-aware club anthems and her twinkling hyper-pop gems in a way that reveals them to all be coming from basically the same place, and sounding pretty dynamite when stacked back-to-back in a brilliantly designed live set.
The Music, Fashion, Film Tour so far closely follows the live set Charli debuted at a number of festival dates — most prominently Chicago’s Lollapalooza in late July — but also makes room for a number of additional songs, as well as the odd special guest or two. (Underscores also quickly proved an inspired choice of stateside opener, with her future-forward pop songs, full-bodied delivery and impressive emotional connection doing Charli’s legacy in advanced modern pop proud.)
Charli herself kept the banter to a minimum on Monday, mostly letting the songs (and her flailing dance moves) speak for themselves — with additional emotional support from her phalanxes of backing dancers and post-fab live backing band. It all added up to a a high-point performance from a pop star who functions just as naturally as a club kid and underground rocker, with all of her personas feeding into one singularly iconic presence in contemporary music: “ It’s Charli, babyyyyy… “
Here were the five best moments from Charli’s first New York-area show of her Music, Fashion, Film Tour.
Charli xcx may spend the rest of her career ping-ponging from one varied sound to the next, but few of her switch-ups could ever possibly compare to the pivot she initially announced this year with the debut of Music, Fashion, Film lead single (and album opener) “Rock Music.” As the song came into focus on Monday night — with Charli donning a t-shirt proclaiming “I’ve Had Sex With Charli xcx” — the entire era felt immediately validated by the first “ ro-o-o-o-o-ock ” Auto-Tune glitch, a brilliant piss-take that cackles at you for taking it seriously while still being far too undeniably cathartic to truly laugh off.