Billie Eilish at Sziget Festival review

Billie Eilish at Sziget Festival review | Pared-back acoustics to pure rock n’ roll – and everything in-between

★★★★★
Billie Eilish unloaded a set of exceptional variety to the deafening, 90,000-capacity crowd at Sziget Festival – but it was the stripped-back moments where the singer-songwriter sensation truly shone.

by Ali Shutler |

★★★★★

Billie Eilish unleashed a set of exceptional variety to the deafening, 90,000-capacity crowd at Sziget Festival – but it was the stripped-back moments where the singer-songwriter sensation truly shone.
“I just want love right now,” declares Billie Eilish, onstage at Sziget Festival in Hungary. It’s a world away from the snarling, menacing attitude of those bedroom-emo anthems that first made Eilish a global star back in 2019 – except she’s lost none of the excitement as she’s evolved.  Second album Happier Than Ever is a lush, gorgeous sounding record that’s laced with venom and tonight’s show sees her approaching the end of a two-year touring cycle in celebration of it. There’s just a handful of festival dates left, including headline slots at Reading and Leeds at the end of the month, but there’s not a moment of this 90-minute set that feels tired.  After a burst of pulsating dance music, Billie Eilish springs onto the stage; only, instead of launching straight into the hammering ‘Bury A Friend’, she has to stop to take in the deafening cheers. When the track kicks in, the roar of the crowd threatens to drown Eilish out entirely, before they scream along to every word of the glitching, stop-start track. That energy continues through the swirling ‘I Didn’t Change My Number’, ‘NDA’s sleek groove and the swaggering snarl of ‘Therefore I Am’. People climb onto ice cream vans and scale bars near the back of the field for a better view.  Eilish doesn’t write the sort of music that you’d typically associate with festivals. The tracks are complex, her lyrics twisting, and the energy changes multiple times within the same song. Yet the entire 90,000 capacity crowd at Sziget follows her down each and every winding moment.
Billie Eilish

Photo: Mauricio Santana

That’s not to say the show is without its big moments. ‘You Should See Me In A Crown’ is urgent, with Eilish encouraging the crowd to “lose it, just a little bit” for the explosive chorus, while ‘Oxycotin’ is a moment of pure rock n’ roll excess aided by snarling guitars and bursts of pyro.  ‘Bad Guy’ remains as visceral, bold and vibrant as ever, whipping the crowd into a frenzy despite the fact many of them have been at the festival for six days now and the cathartic close of ‘Happier Than Ever’ sees Eilish laughing with the crowd – an inside joke shared by 90,000 people. Still, it’s the quieter moments where Billie Eilish really shines. A pared-back ‘Idontwannabeyouanymore’ leads into the pop shimmer of ‘Lovely’, her collab with Khalid, before a twinkling ‘My Future’. An acoustic section, meanwhile, sees Eilish backed by Finneas on guitar for ‘Your Power’, ‘TV’ and ‘I Love You’. It’s recent single ‘What Was I Made For?’ that really feels special though. Eilish has comfortably created a string of quiet, vulnerable songs over the past few years, but none have been as direct, as revealing as the stark contribution to the Barbie soundtrack. Live, that fragile tenderness is pure magic, with the entire field watching in awe.
Billie Eilish at Sziget Festival

Photo: Marcelo Hernandez

The show is a sleek, visual spectacle with curated imagery offset by lasers, confetti and fire but there’s a spontaneity about the way Eilish attacks the stage that makes the whole thing feel almost reckless. She also has a way of making the massive show feel intimate. Throughout the gig, Eilish gives space for the audience to express themselves, and there’s empowerment to be found in screaming along to songs about pain, anger and isolation. She starts ‘Everything I Wanted’ with a message about the climate crisis that morphs into one about empathy.  “We really got to do a better job of caring,” she explains. “Protect each other. Stand for each other. I hope that you feel safe here, and comfortable to be yourself.” She regularly checks in with the audience, and encourages them to do the same while ‘When The Party’s Over’ starts with her reminding the crowd that they are loved, before she asks them to take a breath and be present in the moment. She knows this is the sort of show people will remember for the rest of their lives.

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