Halsey made her Rock in Rio debut Sunday night, and the road there was messier than anyone expected. Days before the show, she posted that she needed“100 witches to get together and help me get over this illness in the next 24 hours.”She later found out what she was dealing with was a facial infection, according to Brazil’s Folha de S.Paulo. Not exactly the pre-festival prep anyone plans for.
She didn’t scale back. On a rain-soaked Palco Mundo stage, Halsey leaned into heavier, guitar-driven arrangements across a 75-minute set, running through“Nightmare,”“Experiment on Me,”and a rockier version of“Closer”before closing with“Without Me.”She climbed offstage to embrace fans and called for a mosh pit, turning a rough week into one of the more talked-about sets of the festival.
For anyone who knows Halsey mostly from her radio singles, the rock-leaning live show might come as a surprise, and it’s clearly a side of her performance she’s leaning into. Would you want a full rock album from her after hearing this set?
About the Author
Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.