In July 2026, Julia and I went to see the American singer LP in Vienna. The concert took place on 6 July at Raiffeisen Halle im Gasometer, a venue inside Vienna’s Gasometer complex that regularly hosts well-known artists. In today’s article, I want to tell you who LP is, why she deserves to be known for much more than one worldwide hit, and what her concert in the Austrian capital was like.
For me, this was an event I had really wanted to attend. In the Russian-speaking world, LP is often known primarily for the song Lost on You, but her career goes far beyond a single track. She is an internationally famous artist with a powerful voice, a distinctive image, a strong songwriting background, and enormous live experience.
In Vienna, LP came on stage at around 9:00 p.m. and gave a packed performance. By my count, she played around 16 songs. The venue was full, the atmosphere was incredibly lively, and that evening the Gasometer became the setting for a deeply emotional concert.
As I have mentioned before, Julia and I have a small tradition. On the day we are going to a concert, I start listening to the artist’s music while I am still at the gym. Later, before leaving home, we often put the songs on again to get back into the mood, hear familiar tracks, and emotionally prepare ourselves for the evening.
It was also convenient that LP was performing at Raiffeisen Halle im Gasometer, because we know this venue well and it is quite close to our home. It is easy to reach by metro, so there is no need to think about driving, parking, or any complicated logistics. There is a special pleasure in that: you simply leave home, travel a few stops, and suddenly find yourself at a major concert.
This time, we decided to arrive early so that we could stand closer to the stage. I wanted to record at least a few videos of the LP songs I particularly love, both as a memory for myself and for this article. In the end, I managed to film every song, which made me very happy. Unfortunately, entry to the hall started around half an hour later than promised in the schedule. I was also surprised that this time people had to enter the main hall through some side entrances.
For the Gasometer, that felt a little unusual, and I do not remember it happening before. In terms of organisation, the biggest problem for me was the stuffiness. The concert took place in July, it was quite hot outside, and in my opinion the Gasometer’s air-conditioning system could not fully cope with such a large crowd. That was probably one of the few serious shortcomings of the entire evening.
At the same time, I personally find the Gasometer a very comfortable venue. The stage is well designed: it is high enough for the artists to be clearly visible, but the concert still does not turn into distant viewing from far below. I also like the small bars inside the hall.
You can buy water, beer, a gin and tonic, other drinks and, I think, even a slice of pizza, and you can pay both in cash and by card. That is genuinely convenient. At concerts, you often have to walk quite far just to buy some water, while in a hot venue it can become a necessity. I also like the relaxed attitude toward this in Austria: people can buy themselves a beer or a gin and tonic, stand at a concert, listen to the music, and still behave perfectly normally. That, too, is part of the local cultural code.
Another thing surprised me shortly before the concert began. Among the brands visible at the Gasometer, I noticed NEFT Vodka. I remembered the name and branding quite well from the internet and at first thought there might be some Russian connection. It later turned out that the story was more complicated: the brand is associated with Siberian imagery and an oil-inspired aesthetic, but it is produced in Austria. In any case, seeing it in Vienna at the Gasometer was unexpected.
Before LP, the opening act was singer Ava Fina. There were young women on stage who, judging by the impression I got, were German-speaking and possibly from Austria or Germany. They created a pleasant atmosphere, performed with plenty of energy, and were clearly grateful for the opportunity to stand in front of such a large audience. Moments like this always resonate with me: you can see when people are genuinely happy to be on stage and in front of a crowd. And then the main event began — the reason we had all come there: LP’s concert.
LP is the stage name of American singer, songwriter, and musician Laura Pergolizzi. She was born in New York, grew up on Long Island, and comes from a family with Italian roots. Interviews and biographical materials often mention her family connections to Naples and Palermo.
LP occupies a special place in international pop music. She looks like an old-school rock star, writes like a professional hitmaker, and sings with a voice that is almost impossible to confuse with anyone else’s. She is known for her powerful vocals, androgynous image, distinctive whistling, dramatic delivery, and a musical style that combines pop, rock, folk, and alternative influences.
LP’s road to fame was a long one. She began her solo career in the early 2000s, released albums, and signed contracts with major record labels, but for a long time remained an artist whom the music industry seemed unable to package properly.
At the same time, her talent as a songwriter became successful earlier than her own voice did. LP wrote songs for major pop stars including Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, the Backstreet Boys, and others. One of the best-known examples is Rihanna’s song Cheers (Drink to That) from the album Loud. For many years, LP therefore existed in the industry in a rather paradoxical position: her songs were being performed by globally famous artists while she herself was still not widely known as a performer.
Her real international breakthrough came with Lost on You. For Russian-speaking audiences, LP is often associated primarily with this hit, but in her career the song was the result of a very long journey. Lost on You first appeared as part of the Death Valley EP and later gave its name to her 2016 album.
The song became a major European and international hit, topped charts in several countries, and made LP widely recognisable far beyond the United States. Everything that makes her music special came together in this song: a dramatic melody, almost confessional lyrics, a powerful chorus, a sharp emotional break, and a voice that sounds fragile and incredibly strong at the same time.
After the success of Lost on You, she continued developing as a major artist in her own right. Her repertoire includes Other People, Muddy Waters, When We’re High, Recovery, Girls Go Wild, The One That You Love, How Low Can You Go, Golden, One Like You, and many other songs.
The albums Forever for Now, Lost on You, Heart to Mouth, Churches, and Love Lines show that LP does not work within one narrow genre. She constantly moves between rock, pop, folk, cinematic ballads, and a large-scale live sound. Her songs often revolve around love, breakups, desire, dependence on relationships, inner freedom, and the kind of pain that a person turns into music.
Another important part of LP’s image is her openly queer identity and androgynous aesthetic. She has never hidden her connection to the LGBT community and is often seen as an important figure for queer audiences. At the same time, LP does not try to reduce herself simply to the role of an “LGBT star.”
Her public image works on a much broader level. She exists freely between traditional expectations of femininity and masculinity, does not adapt herself to conventional pop sexuality, and makes her appearance part of her artistic statement. In this sense, her recognisable curls, suits, tattoos, gestures, movements, and stage manner have become almost as important as her voice and songs.
LP is especially popular in Europe and Latin America, and she has developed a particularly strong fan base in Italy — perhaps not only because of her family roots, but also because of the emotional nature of her music. Her concerts are built around powerful vocals, direct contact with the audience, and the feeling of a personal confession turning into a large shared experience.
That is why LP is much more than the artist behind one worldwide hit. She has a long career, a huge body of songwriting work, a strong stage identity, and a rare ability to combine professionally crafted pop music with the feeling of real human pain.
The concert itself seemed to pass in a single breath. LP managed to create the incredible feeling of a warm, intimate house concert, almost like a private party where everyone somehow knew one another. At certain moments, it genuinely felt as though you had come to visit her and were listening not to a major concert at the Gasometer, but to some kind of personal performance — almost a private evening for people who love her music.
She walked along the stage a lot, constantly communicated with the audience, looked at people, smiled, and waved. Because I was standing in the front row and filming, you could say that during several songs LP and I were singing while looking directly into each other’s eyes. That kind of personal contact is worth a lot. In moments like these, a large concert suddenly becomes incredibly close and human.
LP thanked the audience many times for coming, for the support, and for the warm welcome. You could see how much she genuinely appreciated it. She did not look like an artist simply working through another stop on a tour. On the contrary, it felt as though this connection with the audience really mattered to her. She also has an interesting group of musicians around her.
I particularly remember the guy playing electric guitar. Unfortunately, I do not know his name, but he was the real driving force on stage. He bounced around, jumped, moved constantly, and created his own little wave of excitement around himself. It gave the concert even more energy and a real rock-and-roll feeling.
LP performed all the songs I especially love, as well as several tracks I did not know from an album she had released only recently. The new songs had the same heartfelt style typical of LP: emotional intensity, warmth, a powerful voice, and her instantly recognisable sensitivity. She also mentioned that she had caught a slight cold, so her voice was not in perfect condition. Although, to my completely non-professional ear, she still sounded absolutely divine. If that was her voice when it was not at its best, it is difficult even to imagine what she sounds like in perfect form.
At the end of the concert, something else very pleasant happened. LP came down to the audience and started signing autographs, taking photos, and signing merchandise, tickets, and everything else people brought her. It all felt incredibly warm and open.
Julia and I were also lucky enough to take a photo with her as a memory of the evening, which became another very happy moment for me. It is not every day that you get not only to hear one of your favourite artists live, but also to have such a brief, warm, personal moment with them after the concert.
Overall, the entire performance felt incredibly warm, kind, and uplifting. Evenings like this stay in your memory for a long time. They make both emigration and life in general brighter, more interesting, and more eventful. So I am immensely grateful to LP, to Vienna, and simply for the opportunity to experience concerts like this. It was one of those events that leaves you walking around for a long time afterwards with the feeling that something real has happened.
