The 1950s and ’60s came alive in Detroit as Lana Del Rey took the stage at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

The arena was filled with people of all ages and backgrounds. My friend and I sat between a couple nearing the upper forties and a couple in their thirties. While scavenging for food that did not break my bank, we saw many younger girls around the age of 13 as well.

It is impressive that a pop/indie star can draw such a diverse audience into the heart of Detroit to vibe together through music. Del Rey’s 2018 tour is titled “LA to the Moon.” Her stage was garnished in beach-themed decorations, including lights that made her stage look exactly like a swimming pool.

It was subtle and colorful much like her songs. Her decor and arrangement was captivating as the cameras that captured her onto the monitors only depicted her in black and white. Ironically enough, halfway through her setlist she sang “Change” and that is when the cameras started depicting her in color.

Her songs are very deep and transcend through decades. The song “National Anthem” is one example. In her music video, she first dresses as Jacqueline Kennedy and starts off by singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President,” which was sung for President John F. Kennedy. Further through her music video she turns into a Marilyn Monroe persona.

This extended into her concert. When it came time to sing National Anthem she began by playing the “Happy Birthday Mr. President’” video on the large middle screen.

Continuing with the vintage mood of her songs, “When the World was at War We kept Dancing” is another example. While singing the tune, the big screen was projecting scenes from old wars. I am not entirely sure which ones, but it gave the World War II vibe.

Del Rey’s voice is one you would hear at a ’50s jazz club in New York, and I would pay my bottom dollar to see her again.

She has talent which is quite obvious when one sees her live. Toward the end of her setlist she proceeded to ask fans what songs they would like to hear. So, in turn she sang “Get Free” with no music behind her and no beat to go off of. She sang it a capella and it was like a view into her soul.

Emotion is the driving force in most of her songs. We may not have experienced something like that but she has us feeling like we have.

The atmosphere the concert created was wonderful. My ear drums were not dying and there were no people dancing in front of me and blocking my view. Most people were either sitting and enjoying or dancing with her music.

Lana was extremely friendly with her fans and took about 5-10 minutes taking pictures with a few of them. Afterward she apologized for taking some time but she said she was excited to see her friends. She has the super cool “mom vibe” down and I would definitely go see her perform again.