By EVAN FERNANDEZ/Staff Writer
The dim blue lights flooding the Moody Center arena slowly faded to black, and a single beam cuts through the layer of darkness, landing at the center of the stage as the intro to “Hammer” began to echo through the speakers.
The reverberation of those opening notes was enough to send the crowd to their feet, screaming with anticipation, waiting for Lorde to open the show. For a moment, all eyes were locked on the individual spotlight, patiently waiting. Then the floor of the stage slowly opened, and Lorde began to rise from within, moving upward in sync with the swelling sound. As the light touched her face, it expanded into a sharp triangular layer that cast her shadow in every direction across the stage, giving her presence a larger-than-life aura before she even spoke a word.
The crowd erupted again as she lifted her silver mic to her lips, her movements deliberate and graceful, as if she was fully aware of the power in holding back just long enough to build tension. The connection within the arena felt like something that I had never felt before; every screaming cheer, every echo of songs bouncing off all the walls, feeding into the anticipation of the 90-minute show ahead. It was the type of entrance that didn’t just start a concert, it announced the beginning of something so much bigger: the opening night of Lorde’s “Ultrasound Tour.”
OVERVIEW OF THE TOUR
Lorde just kicked off her “Ultrasound World Tour” Sept. 17 in Austin, Texas, marking the official start of a new era for the singer to complement her new record, “Virgin.” This run is not only her first time touring songs from her latest album to live audiences, but also her first time back on the road since the “Solar Power Tour” wrapped up in early 2022. The “Ultrasound Tour” is a huge undertaking for a tour of hers, spanning 53 shows across 45 cities in 16 different countries. Over the next several months, Lorde will bring her show to arenas across North America, Europe and Australia, reaching fans from New York to Sydney, and all the way to her home region of New Zealand. After opening in Austin, the journey continues through the fall and winter before coming to a close on Feb. 25, 2026, in Perth, Australia, at the RAC Arena.
TOUR VISUALS
The Ultrasound Tour’s set is simplistic. The main stage stretches out across the venue and in the center, extends a short catwalk. The stage is cluttered with stacks of speakers, hanging lights and sound systems, while a giant screen forms the backdrop. She also has lifts built into the stage that allow her to rise and fall at different times, turning each entrance and exit into a small moment of magic. It makes it feel like she is coming straight out of the music itself, giving the minimal stage setup a theatrical quality.
Much of the show’s visual storytelling happens through the screen and lighting. Multiple cameras-some handheld, some fixed in place-capture her movements in real time and project them onto the massive backdrop, splitting and layering the footage into a constantly shifting, cinematic display. A particularly standout moment comes during her song “David,” when she walks into the pit surrounded by fans while being recorded. The live footage is layered with a video of her alone in the same space, singing the song in isolation. The contrast between the intimacy of being alone and the feeling of being surrounded by the fans is so emotional, and it even nods to a viral social media trend, blending her fan culture with her art and performance. The lighting further enhances the experience of the show, with beams arranged in triangles and prisms, stage lights flooding the arena with color and the shadows of her and her dancers shifting to match the mood of the song. Sometimes the lights pulse with the beat; other times, they bathe her in soft blues and whites, creating a dreamlike glow while still showcasing her most vulnerable side. A song where lighting was essential was during her song “Ribs,” where she has a layer of light above that she touches and plays with, referencing the beginning of the show, with it eventually slowly closing, which also signifies the closing of the show. Together, these elements transform the stage into a living canvas, perfectly capturing the balance of intimacy and spectacle that defines the “Ultrasound Tour.”
SETLIST
Lorde’s setlist showcases a curated mix of fan favorites, deep cuts and new songs from her latest album, “Virgin.” She opens the show with the bold opening track from the album “Hammer,” immediately pulling the audience into her world and preparing us for what is to come. The show then moves through iconic tracks, including the early 2010 smash hit “Royals,” and “Buzzcut Season,” with newer hits “Favourite Daughter,” and “Broken Glass” blending nostalgia with her new edgy style. Mid-set, she introduces “Perfect Places,” and then “Shapeshifter” where she has a special camera capture her movements and projects a particle-like effect onto the screen that mimics what she is doing on stage. Then “Current Affairs” comes on, and she begins to slowly take off her jeans to reveal her men’s Calvin Kleins underneath, showcasing her exploration of her gender identity, which was a major theme of her newest record. There is a small interlude, and then she goes into the fan favorite “Supercut,” in which a treadmill comes onto the stage. By the end of the song, she is full-on running and singing on it, which was very impressive to see that much vocal control and stamina in a performance. We also got a surprise addition of one of her earlier songs, “No Better,” being on the setlist simply because it is one of her least known songs, but it fits the album so well.
Intimate and reflective moments continue with “GRWM,” “The Louvre,” “Oceanic Feeling” and “Big Star.” Then she goes to the end of the catwalk, sits down and the piano intro to her deep cut “Liability” starts playing. She talks about touring again and what it feels like to her. After her moving performance of “Liability,” she transitions into a rendition of “Clearblue,” with many voice modifications put on her vocals, and then goes into the sleeper hit “Man of the Year,” where she reveals the iconic duct tape top that is covering her chest. The performance ramps up again with “If She Could See Me Now,” one of her older hits, “Team,” and then goes into her lead single off of “Virgin,” “What Was That.” Which then leads us into the finale featuring the electric opening track from Melodrama “Green Light” that got everyone in the arena jumping and dancing, the very emotional and personal “David” from “Virgin” with powerful visuals to go along with it, and then closing it off with her most beloved song “Ribs,” from “Pure Heroine,” where she stands on a small stage near the sound and light mixer with a thin layer of light just like the one in the beginning and performs her final song of the night to a crowd of 15,000 people. This carefully crafted setlist balances Lorde’s artistic vision and ideas with introspective storytelling, providing fans with a dynamic and immersive live experience that spans her full artistic range.
PERSONAL REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
This tour had some of the highest production value I’ve ever seen. Everything about it was so real, from the lighting that changed with the mood, to the enormous screen that filled the stage with almost movie-like projections, to even down to her setlist. Sitting in the center of the lower bowl, I had a full view of it all: the stage design, her movements and those of her dancers, all the little details that made it feel so much bigger than it really was. For one second, I noticed the screen in front of me freeze, and I remember not even noticing it until I looked back on my videos. It was the one, fleeting hiccup in what seemed to be an otherwise perfected production. Lorde didn’t let it faze her; she kept moving forward and the crowd with her, as if nothing had happened.
For me, the best part of the night was “Ribs,” a song so dear not just to me but to her and her fans, when Lorde came out onto this small platform by the mixer, maybe ten feet away from where I was sitting. The intimacy of the performance was awe-inspiring: the crowd singing along, the building instrumentals, and the way her voice could fill the entire arena. I felt like it was one of those moments in a concert where time stood still, one of those once-in-a-lifetime performances that I will replay over and over in my head for the rest of my life, especially considering the energy of the show’s ending. I think that this performance was not just another concert; I know I was left feeling stunned alongside the rest of the crowd, and one that I will be thinking about for years to come.
FINAL SCORE- 9.8/10
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