Our review of a unique and spellbinding orchestral performance by one of music’s greatest innovators
Rock stars, pop stars and DJs performing with orchestras has become quite fashionable in recent years. But few artists are as perfectly suited to the experience as the magnificent St Vincent, who is one of music’s greatest innovators.
Her blend of cutting-edge art pop and rock, her inimitable vocal style, her poetic lyrics and her dramatic stage presence and charisma have earned the star numerous awards including six Grammys. To amplify and enhance her output with dozens of classically-trained musicians seems like a marriage made in heaven.
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Annie Clark and her live band first took this leap in September 2025 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, when she was accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra led by the highly acclaimed conductor Jules Buckley, who re-arranged and re-imagined a career-spanning selection of St Vincent’s genre-busting and shape-shifting songs. This momentous collaboration was later released as the Live in London album.
Following the huge success of this event, St Vincent this summer embarked on an orchestral tour of the US and Canada. One of the highlights of the journey was bound to be at the spectacular setting of David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Centre on July 2 when Annie and her band performed with the world-renowned New York Philharmonic. I was lucky enough to attend this magical once-in-a-lifetime performance.
What a majestic room to host such a concert. Having undergone a major $550 million renovation earlier this decade, it offers superb acoustics, warm beechwood paneling and wraparound seating that create an intimate atmosphere in which the music shone with a precision and clarity I’ve not experienced too often in all my years of attending live shows.
Alternative folk singer and songwriter Ruby Plume opened the evening with a blend of her own intricate creations awash with lush guitar melodies alongside covers of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.
Decked out in a saintly looking dark blue art pop ensemble with red shoes that colour matched her lipstick, Annie Clark entered the stage without her guitar, standing close to the front and centre for an opening run of songs such as We Put a Pearl in the Ground, Hell is Near and Reckless. The initial emphasis on the lush and theatrical orchestration felt ethereal.
Among the many musicians behind the diminutive star were her own four‑piece band — guitarist Robert Ellis, bassist Allee Futterer, drummer John Hadfield and keyboardist Rachel Ekroth.
Highlights from the 16-song set included Marrow, an insistent track from the 2009 album Actor, which snarled more with Annie’s on-fire guitar playing. Now, Now (from her 2007 debut Marry Me) fused her delicate playing against ghostly strings, while Masseducation’s Smoking Section and Daddy’s Home’s Live in the Dream both gained an additional spark from the heavenly harp and some dramatic percussion.
Towards the end of the thrilling show, Annie (whose rich vocals shone throughout) said it had been sometimes awkward to introduce New York in other locations but that she ‘finally got to sing the song’ in its namesake city. During this number, Clark entered the stunned crowd, greeting some fans with a kiss on the head or an embrace while the rest of the hall stood clapping along with many jaws hitting the floor. A pensive and poignant Slow Disco wrapped up a truly wonderful evening.
Let’s hope St Vincent takes this tour on the road back to Europe where her orchestral journey began.
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