Pop collaborations with symphonies usually go one of two ways: An artist integrates themselves into the orchestra, re-arranging their songs to tastefully fit the classical format, something Trey Anastasio and Andrew Bird have done recently. The other option is to bring a full band — drums, keys, guitar, and all — and use the orchestra as an extension of the rock band, creating bombastic arrangements that play closer to a rock show than a recital, something King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard did to great effect last year.

St. Vincent — Annie Clark’s enduring art rock/indie pop project — chose the latter for her orchestral tour, presenting a powerful, often stunning suite of songs at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va., that was as heavy as it was lush. Collaborating with conductor Jules Buckley and, on this night, the National Symphony Orchestra, Clark made clear this wasn’t a regular evening at the symphony. “Let’s f— some s– up, let’s go!” she told the crowd at one point, before snarling at them to get out of their seats, stand up and dance.

Opening with a symphony-only version of the piano composition “We Put a Pearl in the Ground” from St. Vincent’s 2007 debut Marry Me, Clark emerged for “Hell Is Near,” a downcast, drum-and-bass-driven song that accentuated Clark’s delicate and powerful vocals as strings swelled.

“Reckless,” from her most recent album, 2024’s All Born Screaming was the first song to show the true potential of this collaboration. The orchestra was subtle at first for the sparse intro before the song began to climb and climax in an explosion of sound from every musician onstage. Clark — ever the magnetic performer — dropped to the floor, her voice building as the orchestra enhanced the synth-heavy crescendo.

Dressed in a retro matching white jacket and skirt set with bright red heels, Clark sauntered around the stage like a true rock star, interacting with the 50+ musicians on stage (between the orchestra and her four-piece backing band) and even walked into the crowd during a playful take on “New York” that got the crowd up and clapping along near the end of the set.

The early high point was a mini-suite of three songs from 2009’s breakout Actor. Fan favorite “Black Rainbow” got the first big reaction of the night, one that only got bigger as Clark strapped on an electric guitar and ripped an ascending solo, the orchestra amplifying every lick. “Marrow” was similarly epic: the strings doubled the synths, the guitars were loud, and Clark’s vocals soared. “The Bed,” in contrast, played like a twisted Disney fairytale: “We’re sleeping underneath the bed/ To scare the monsters out/ With our dear daddy’s Smith and Wesson/ We’ve gotta teach them all a lesson,” she sang over light, twinkling strings.

Sometimes the orchestra added more by being subtle: On “Live in the Dream,” it felt like the orchestra was floating behind Clark, as if in a dream, as she let out a David Gilmour-esque guitar solo.

While most of the orchestral arrangements were faithful to the original compositions, a few songs were reimagined more drastically for this tour, including “Smoking Section.” The album-closer from 2017’s Masseduction was doubled in length for the orchestra, giving it a grand, cinematic sweep. Indeed, the slinking, sexy noir-mets-R&B slow-burn, sounded like it belonged in a movie thanks to the strings and may have been Clark’s most impressive vocal performance of the night.

By the time she got to “Digital Witness,” the funky, horn-and-synth-driven banger, it was abundantly clear that this was a rock show that happened to include an orchestra — and not at all the other way around.