Live Review
The singer covers "Jolene" and brings out Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne at her first full concert in nearly four years
Miley embraced her new era at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Friday, opening her set with the live debut of four new songs from her newly released Bass Persuades at the first of her two sold-out shows at the iconic venue over the weekend, and her first proper headlining show in about four years.
“I’m an extremist,” Miley said before launching into her fifth live song debut, the riveting title track from her album prior, 2025’s Something Beautiful. “Now, you guys have given me such a purpose … Performance can’t be everything, because the curtain closes and the lights go down and I have to go back home and be happy with who I am,” she said before thanking her fans for supporting her “finding this balance in my life where I completely have everything that I ever wanted.”
Having grown up in the spotlight in Disney’s Hannah Montana before breaking out into her own, Miley has explored multiple genres and personas over the course of 20 years while scoring megahits along the way, breathing the rare air that few achieve in the pop stratosphere. At the Hollywood Bowl, Miley hit a number of firsts — first time performing at the Bowl, first time performing much of her set list, first time hitting the stage in many years, first time going by her first name only at a show. And most of those firsts worked in her favor at the concert.
She acknowledged this return to the stage “doesn’t feel as natural as it did” back when touring was a given in her life, as she pointed out that her next Bowl show on Sunday marked the 19th-year anniversary of her first headlining tour. “For somebody that likes to keep life fun and likes to jump out of airplanes and be spontaneous, doing the same thing for your entire life can lose its shine if you don’t continue to give yourself that pressure and that polish to create something beautiful, which is the life that I’m living.” (Miley hasn’t embarked on a full-fledged trek since the Bangerz Tour in 2014.)
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When the show hit well, it was a joyride, particularly during unexpected moments. Opening with the ballad “Orbit” seemed an odd choice, but then she followed it with a blistering “Different Religion” featuring openers Model/Actriz, which set the tone of the up-down-up vibe of the ensuing set.
One of the biggest highlights came by way of her dedication to “Aunt Dolly” Parton, which she made before performing a resonant “Jolene.” Sitting at the edge of the stage, through tears Miley shared that the only time she had ever seen her godmother perform was at the Hollywood Bowl, where Parton beckoned Miley to perform with her.
“Like so many things Dolly did that I didn’t understand at the time, sitting here with you all right now, feeling her all around me, knowing that she’s right here beside me every day, all the time, more than she could be when she was here, I feel her more now than ever,” Miley said through tears. “And knowing that I get to share this story with you all, it makes that night very worth it. This memory is gold to me. Me and Dolly, we are eternal. Nothing in this life could ever tear us apart. And I’m gonna see her again. And I can’t fucking wait ’cause I miss her.”
She also surprised fans by bringing out her Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz collaborator Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips to the B stage in the middle of the audience. Calling that album her “favorite album that I’ve ever made,” they performed “Karen Don’t Be Sad” after they sang the Flaming Lips classic “Do You Realize??”
As she walked from the B stage back to the main stage, she discussed how “overwhelming” the energy from the audience was — it was a confessional, vulnerable side Miley exhibited often throughout her set during her onstage banter video interludes. She didn’t take that privilege for granted, however, thanking her fans for their support.
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Surprisingly, where things seemed a bit disconnected was during some of her most standout songs. While she gave a little familiar twerk during “We Can’t Stop,” during that song, “Wrecking Ball,” and “Party in the U.S.A.” she left the audience to sing through the choruses and elsewhere.
For the encore, she performed the romantic “Let’s Get Married” with her partner Maxx Morando by her side on drums, back-to-back with “Flowers,” a declaration of independence and self-love. It was a fitting end to Miley’s first major show in her new era, a juxtaposition where she’s doing and being who and what she wants, on her own terms.
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Miley Cyrus Hollywood Bowl Set List
“Orbit”
“Different Religion”
“Bass Persuades”
“Handstand”
“Something Beautiful”
“Jolene”
“Walk of Fame”
“Redlights”
“Do You Realize??”
“Karen Don’t Be Sad”
“We Can’t Stop”
“Wrecking Ball”
“Snow”
“Used to Be Young”
“The Climb”
“Party in the U.S.A.”
“Let’s Get Married”
“Flowers”