Live Review: Mitski at Hollywood High School

Mitski, who is best described as a Japanese American alternative art-pop artist, indeed has a strange yet curious case with her expression through music. 

While her lyrics and melodies are burdened with a sense of unbearable agitation and loneliness, they’re ultimately converted into a sense of hope, inspiration and courage for her fans. Mitski’s live performance is also a different story, as it felt celestial and divine, and distinctively incomparable than the recorded version of her songs. This was the case when I first saw her live during a headliner performance at the 2024 All Points East festival in London. This also seemed to be the case this past week during her series of live performances at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles from March 30th to April 4th, 2026.    

Mitski’s residency at Hollywood High School not only involved a five-night sold-out show, but also expressed her creatively unique choice in hosting an intimate showcase in a 100-year old school auditorium for her fans–especially, according to Mitski, to deliver a sense of “punk DIY-show.” This performance on Saturday of April 4th marked her last day of her 5-day residency, celebrating her eighth studio album, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, which was released in late February of 2026. 

The night at Hollywood High School also consisted of a wholesome spirit–with Mitski’s team announcing that $2 per ticket is going to be donated to ‘In the Band’ (Los Angeles-based non-profit organization promoting music education), as well as the rental fee of the auditorium ultimately being contributed to the school’s upcoming graduation ceremony. These truly were astounding artistic choices, but also a considerate action taken by Mitski and her team.

American Folk singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx delivered a one-woman show for Mitski’s opening act. Mainly consisting of newly written songs, Haley Heynderickx mesmerized the audience without any band members–simply, with her acoustic guitar and her calming voice. It was a suitable introduction for the audience, not only for complementing Mitski’s tone and energy, but also for establishing a sense of nostalgia of being in a school auditorium. 

Mitski then took on the stage, dressed up in her signature minimalistic stage outfit–with a white button-up shirt, black vest and black slacks. With the soothing folk melody of her first song, “In a Lake,” Mitski tranquilly sang a cautionary tale about one’s fear of being stuck in a small town. 

The first song of the night, “In a Lake,” which stylistically contrasts idle melody and lullaby-esque singing style with devastatingly calamitous lyrics, was also accentuated by the overall high school auditorium aesthetic for the fans–with the stage being physically closer to the audience members, the sound of the musical performance echoing through the ground, along with theatrical lighting set up, as well as theatrical props and set design of antique furnitures (similar to the theme and the visual style of her latest album cover design), all contributing to making Mitski’s live performance more intimate for the fans. 

Throughout her compact 90-minute set (as Mitski managed to deliver a whopping 25-song setlist for the fans during this time frame), it was quite admirable to see how Mitski continuously went on without stopping much of her set, apart from the occasional small talk with her fans. But even then, Mitski rarely talked about herself, but rather boasted about Haley Heynderickx’s fabulous opening performance and expressed appreciation for her fans’ presence as well.    

Mitski’s performance was filled with a series of lingering melancholia, followed by the songs that defined her musical style and career – including “Washing Machine Heart,” “Francis Forever,” “Heaven” and endearing “My Love Mine All Mine.” The set also included tracks from her latest album, which infused indie-rock and quirky folk style, including “Cats,” “Dead Women,” “Where’s My Phone?” and “That White Cat.”  

Albeit the limitation of performing in a school auditorium, Mitski’s performance at Hollywood High School was truly an unforgettable one-of-a-kind live performance. Mitski was embracing the imperfection of performing in a school auditorium and used them to her advantage–with occasionally rocky volume adjustments of various instruments, as well as occasionally excessive stage lighting choices. But perhaps, this was Mitski’s way of drawing creative fuel and inspiration for her younger fans, all the while evoking dreamlike nostalgia for her longtime fans.

Set List:

1. In a Lake
2. Cats
3. Working for the Knife
4. Buffalo Replaced
5. Dead Women
6. I Bet on Losing Dogs
7. Where’s My Phone?
8. Heaven
9. Rules
10. I’ll Change for You
11. When Memories Snow
12. Instead of Here
13. Circle
14. Washing Machine Heart
15. Dan the Dancer
16. I Want You
17. Francis Forever
18. If I Leave
19. Stay Soft
20. A Horse Named Cold Air
21. Two Slow Dancers
22. Lightning
23. My Love Mine All Mine
24. That White Cat
25. Pearl Diver