’Twas the night before my German exam, and all throughout Baltimore, not a creature was stirring, except for 14,000 sweaty gay people. Following their rise as pop culture royalty, Charli xcx and Troye Sivan journeyed into the United States for Sweat Tour: an electrifying showcase of queer experiences and underground club culture. Sonically, the headliners have little in common. Yet their contiguous reemergence into the cultural zeitgeist was praised by a rather specific demographic: the girls and the gays.
With audiences resonating with both Troye’s explicit yearning and Charli’s party-girl lifestyle, this allows them this unique opportunity to blend their dissimilar discographies into a diverse soundtrack of the queer community. Sweat Tour’s exploration into the highs and lows of femininity and queerness has struck a chord with fans of both Troye and Charli, regardless of their previous loyalties. From its vrooming social media presence and societal takeover, it is apparent that this tour has been one extended “ki” for audience members and headliners alike.
To start off the show, Troye aptly chose his 2023 hit “Get Me Started” from his third studio album Something to Give Each Other (2023). Sporting quintessential gay garb (baggy jeans and a see-through tank), Troye leaned into his new, yet notorious, “it gay” persona. Though wildly different from his Youtube days—the very thing that shot him into stardom—Troye proved himself as a talent to be reckoned with, rather than just a “tumblr boy” with a few albums out.
Using only a tasteful amount of autotune, he managed to deliver a performance that showcased one of the most archetypal moments of the teenage gay experience: pining over a straight person. Troye’s performance of “One of Your Girls” (2023) immaculately displayed this formative experience. Donning a brassiere top, Sivan attempted to convince the background dancer onstage that he was, fittingly, one of his girls. Aiding his attempted seduction was Troye’s vocals, oozing in emotion. Starting in a low, sensual whisper, he maintained the same level of control as he belted far higher notes than on the chorus line. Although undeniably more risque than his earlier work, Troye has remained thematically consistent and allowed his art to mature with him. Troye’s set masterfully transitioned from his early projects that highlighted clandestine queer love into his current material defined by a sensitive perspective on unapologetic gay romance and explicit club memories.
Charli and Troye’s performances alternated throughout the night—a unique format for a dual-headliner tour. Each half of the duo took the stage for about three songs before handing the spotlight over to the other, keeping both the performances and audience energized and allowing for many tasteful wardrobe changes. It’s impossible for me to put into words the sheer outburst of energy that traveled amongst the crowd when Troye came out in leather assless chaps and scarlet red “Sweat Tour” undies. Charli also delivered a curated, yet chaotically fashionable look, stepping out in a cropped white henley and her iconic big black boots. Throughout all of their outfits, a common theme of blending casual items with nightlife wear encapsulated the essence of their musical diversity.
In addition to its creative advantage, staggering their sets led to massive vocal payoff. Although Charli openly denies that she is a vocalist, her live vocal abilities were objectively impressive. Everything she does vocally on brat (2024), she replicated on stage. Charli’s soaring riffs on “Everything is romantic” (2024) sent chills down the spines of audience members. She effortlessly belted during “So I” (2024) while maintaining a sense of restraint and sensitivity authentic to the song. On top of the demanding choreography—raving towards the audience, crawling downstage, etc.—both performers were still able to deliver consistent and impressive vocals.
Charli’s contributions followed less of a narrative structure than Troye’s; however, this did not hinder her ability to convey her strong artistic energy to the thousands in the audience. Taking full advantage of lasers, smoke, and strobe lights, one could easily believe they had accidentally entered a boiler room set in Ibiza, a difficult intimacy to replicate in the comparably massive CFG Bank Arena. Given the clubrat, dance-floor-centric genre of brat, I initially questioned the ability of this show to translate into a stadium atmosphere. Luckily I was completely wrong and found myself aggressively frat-flicking from the first level balcony throughout the entire night.
From the balcony, I saw a sea of brats in the pit, all sporting the “quite disgusting” shade of lime green that has become a core tenet of Charli xcx’s image. While brat was the clear star of the show, its contemporary cultural prominence follows a decade of Charli’s hegemony as an icon in the gay community rather than a pop girl of the mainstream. For those more familiar with her earlier work, Charli delivered performances of “I Love It” (2013) and “Boys” (2017). These selections from earlier in her discography managed to match the energy and thematic motifs of brat while supplying old fans the nostalgia needed to fully embrace her artistic journey.
The cultural phenomenon of brat certainly aided in creating anticipation for Charli’s performance, but it also drew an audience with less awareness of the raving queer performance space at hand. Observing reactions from many in the crowd, it was clear that a large portion of her audience did not know what the essence of the Sweat Tour truly entailed. Some audience members were flinching at the brightness and speed of the strobe lights, covering their ears to protect their mandibles from the strength of the bass. This all is to be expected when considering the rapid entrance into the mainstream that xcx has followed in the past year, however, when one of the most notably repeated lyrics from the album is “bumpin’ that” (x20), I question what these people expected if they’d ever listened to brat prior to the show? While this disconnect created a divided vibe among the audience, the performances were attention-demanding enough for this to not affect the quality of the experience.
Overall, the Sweat Tour was a comprehensive curriculum of the universal tenets of growing up queer and of late nights out with your favorite party girls. Troye and Charli are the twin flames of queer pop. While Troye provides sensitive perspectives on the yearnful, emotional aspects of queerness, Charli highlights the light-heartedness and joy anyone can find in this community. Sweat Tour is a valuable contribution to the growing mainstream awareness of underground cultures, but mostly it’s a sweaty once-in-a-lifetime experience for all.
