NYLON’s By-The-Minute Scene Report From Charli XCX’s Storm King Takeover

Charli XCX posted to her second Instagram account, 360_brat, on Oct. 8 with a cryptic message: “nyyyy! maybe plan to get off work early thursday?” The requisite jokes about her fans not having employment went around the internet before she later announced she’d be hosting a listening party for the highly anticipated remix album, Brat and it’s completely different but still also brat. The location? Storm King Art Center, an outdoor park/museum/art space in New Windsor, New York, featuring massive works by Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, and now, Charli. A 50-foot “ephemeral sculpture” of the remix album vinyl was erected in a grass field situated within the park, and made the case for getting out of the city for the afternoon.

Once the event was confirmed, my editors said I should go, so there I was on a Thursday afternoon, leaving my laptop behind to trek with the other press and unemployed Brats up the Hudson Metro North line for the listening party that was very lo-fi, and in that way, Brat in its own right (Charli played us the remixes from her aux cord setup). Below, I documented my time from train to the last song, with real-time updates on the songs being played, the people I saw, and the things I overheard.

12:24 p.m.

The Metro North commuter rail is looking much more youthful than usual. A noticeable lack of Brat green: I think everyone’s realized the moment has passed.

Some Tisch students are being interviewed by someone who is apparently a journalist about what class they’re skipping. One girl will be Zooming into her class on the train ride up.

12:35 p.m.

And we’re off. I just realized this will be my third time seeing Charli live this year. Feeling very spoiled.

12:52 p.m.

The first on-train canned cocktail has been cracked.

1:35 p.m.

Someone drinking straight out of a handle of Tito’s is playing “Guess” at maximum volume on their phone, filming what appears to be a TikTok.

2:16 p.m.

Made it to Beacon. The crowd is dressed pretty tamely and appropriately for the weather, save a few men in tanks and shorts. Now we wait for the shuttle buses. The staff are all in custom Charli merch that say “working” backwards on the front.

2:25 p.m.

Press is swarming on attendees like crazy, asking people to define “brat” and “poppers.”

2:42 p.m.

The man drinking Tito’s on the train is behind me on the shuttle bus, and introduced himself to me as a content creator. He said I look “silly and fun” (can’t tell if that’s derogatory or not) and that I give him “Capricorn vibes.” (I’m a Sagittarius, for what it’s worth.)

3:16 p.m.

The crowds are filing into Storm King, and we’re waiting for yet another form of transportation to take us up to the grassy fields: a tram. A friend said she told her boss she was having a “personal emergency” and had to leave work. Her boss asked what was going on, to which she replied “Charli XCX.”

3:19 p.m.

The tram is taking forever, so we’re walking. Many are commenting on the fresh air and beautiful weather. Lots of small black sunglasses.

3:42 p.m.

We’re arrived to the massive “ephemeral sculpture” of the Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat vinyl. This is a whole setup: There’s bougie port-a-potties, food trucks, a beer van… I’m very impressed. Everything is free (!), including a T-shirt that says “art” on the front and “Charli xcx at Storm King” on the back. All the text is backwards, obviously.

There’s a DJ booth situated in the back fold of the massive vinyl, and people have already formed a tight club-like crowd in front of it. The crowd is a mix: lots of press, content creators, Williamsburg-type straight men, and East Village-type straight girls. Nobody is missing an opportunity for a picture in front of the 50-foot vinyl.

3:56 p.m.

Benny Drama is here, and the crowd is filling up. Cigs are illicitly being smoked, and other drugs are being ingested.

4:01 p.m.

I’m perched up on top of the hill overlooking the growing crowd. A Cadillac Escalade just pulled up and let a bald man out, who is now standing on the stage.

4:04 p.m.

The Twitch livestream is being set up behind the DJ booth. Charli’s team is in Brat-green hats to stand out against the nature.

4:16 p.m.

Brat (the original) is playing on a loop, and the smell of weed is permeating the air.

4:26 p.m.

The Storm King staff is filling in, meaning we’re moments away from Charli’s presence.

4:34 p.m.

A drone is circling above the crowd. Another Escalade pulls up. Charli gets out to rapturous screams. She starts out with a little speech about how “f*cking sick” this is, and kicks things off with the already-released “Von dutch a.g. cook remix with addison rae” to “get the room warm.” I assume by room, she means the grass field we’re on.

4:40 p.m.

Charli sarcastically addresses the crowd about the elephant in the room: “I know the album leaked, but whatever. You guys obviously didn’t listen to it, right?” And now the “chill autumn vibes, or fall, as you call it” are inspiring her to play “Everything is romantic featuring caroline polachek.”

4:45 p.m.

Next up is “So I featuring a.g. cook.” She really meant it when she said it was “brat but it’s completely different but still also brat:” The songs are sonically very different, and she dives deep into the feeling of each original song. “So I” sees her talking specifically about her experiences with Sophie, and how her ex played her a Sophie song and it changed her life.

4:50 p.m.

I thought Charli had a whole DJ setup at the booth, but it turns out she’s playing us music from her phone. A notification went off mid-song. The next song, my favorite remix from the album (sorry, Charli, I did listen to the leak), is “Club classics featuring bbtrickz” that George produced. The way Charli says “George” with her Essex accent is so, so pleasing.

4:53 p.m.

She plays us a song that’s kinda released already, the one that kicked off her set at the Sweat tour: “365 featuring shygirl.” Charli stands up on the booth again and calls out: “Oh, the poppers are out at the front.”

4:55 p.m.

After the rave sounds of the last one, she says, “this one does something to me. This is really a totally different song, so if you’re a fan of the original, sorry!” She clicks play on “B2b featuring tinashe.” It is, indeed, totally different, and Tinashe glides over a verse about throwing her ass back in denim.

Charli takes to the mic again: “I wasn’t really gonna talk, but I guess I’m gonna.” She talks about how the remix album was a chance to flex her love for dance music and the infinite possibilities of sounds and feelings.

4:59 p.m.

The most anticipated song of the afternoon gets its first spin: “Sympathy is a knife featuring ariana grande.” Ariana on a Charli beat is something I never thought I’d experience in my lifetime. Quickly after is “Mean girls featuring julian casablancas,” which she says got “flipped the f*ck out.”

5:06 p.m.

“I’m gonna play one more,” Charli says, to sighs and jeers from the fans. Valid, considering anyone coming from the city spent two or more hours in commute for 30 minutes of songs. “JK, I’m gonna play two more.” She plays “Rewind featuring bladee,” which she said she finished before the original Brat album was even done. We love a well-prepared queen.

5:10 p.m.

She ends with “Girl so confusing featuring lorde.” Even she knows Lorde’s verse was legendary: “Didn’t she eat this verse? She kinda ate me up.”

5:16 p.m.

I grab a vitaminwater for the road and begin the long multi-vehicle journey home. In true Brat fashion, we missed the 6:11 p.m. train back by two minutes, but luckily I ran into a friend outside the train station. Four of us illegally climbed into the back of a Toyota Prius and set sail for Manhattan.