In September 2026, the annual Portola festival descended upon California’s Bay Area. Among the high-profile performers was Swedish pop star Tove Lo, who had the high-energy crowd riled up.
Taking time to speak with Vice/Noisey, Tove Lo shared about her Portola experience, discussed the sonic evolution of her music, and dished on what fans can expect in the near future. Scroll down to read our conversation and see a photo diary of her time at Portola, courtesy of photographer Blair Brown.
Noisey: Thanks so much for chatting with us! Your Portola performance was an absolute showstopper. Was it as fun for you as it was for the crowd?
Tove Lo: It really was! It was the first festival set of the tour and our first daytime set, so I felt a bit more exposed at first, but the energy from the crowd was so good I got comfortable quickly.
Your new album, Estrus, is a beautiful evolution of your sound. It’s brilliantly layered and full of some exciting experimentation. Did you have a specific goal in mind with this record?
Thank you; that makes me happy to hear. I think the only goal I had was to make it honest and playful and “dare to go there”. Sonically, I think I just naturally get bored if I don’t push the sound and my melodies in a new direction to what I did last. It’s more intuitive than a planned thing.
Do any of these new songs pose challenges when it comes to live performances?
Haha yeah, some of them are quite hard to sing. I use my whole vocal range to its limits in some songs, like “Die for My Art with a Lonely Heart” or “Are We on a Break”, where the chorus has no room for breathing.
But sonically, my musical director and band have figured out how to translate everything so well to live. We spend a lot of time on that, making sure everything feels as fat as the recordings, but it’s still clear it’s live.
2026 marks the 10th anniversary of your sophomore album, Lady Wood. How do you reflect on that record now, 10 years later?
Lady Wood was a really defining record for me. I think that’s when I gained most of my loyal fans, and I had figured out who I am as an artist and how to express that without compromise. I lost the commercial success a bit, but what are you gonna do? 🙂
Finally, we know that you’ll be doing a run of European shows in November, but can you tease us with anything beyond that?
What can I teaseee… lots more to come! Both in new music and more touring!
Tove Lo’s new album, Estrus, is out now and available on all major music streaming services.
As mentioned, in November she’ll kick off a run of shows in Europe, with a few already sold out.
All photos, including the feature image, by Blair Brown
The post Tove Lo Talks High-Energy Crowds and Sonically Evolved Sound in Portola 2026 Festival Photo Diary (Exclusive) appeared first on VICE.
