Cruz Beckham got his first taste of the stage 18 years ago. His mom Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, was performing with the Spice Girls at Madison Square Garden, and the then-3-year-old busted out breakdancing in front of 20,000 people, prompting Posh to declare him the “next Justin Timberlake.”
That he is not. But as Beckham and his band The Breakers made their festival debut at Lollapalooza on Sunday, he showed he could be the next great Brit rocker.
No one probably would’ve guessed that the 21-year-old (the youngest son of Posh and soccer legend David Beckham) would have one of the breakout sets of the weekend with an honest-to-god talent that supersedes his last name. Lollapalooza has opportunistically booked rock progeny before — Lars Ulrich’s sons in the band Taipei Houston and Travis Barker’s son Landon are recent ones that come to mind — and while both of those acts were just fine, Beckham doesn’t exactly follow the same lineage.
Posh is, of course, part of one of the finest music groups of our time, but her world is pop, not the rock swagger the young talent brought forth. Beckham made sure the crowd made the distinction on Sunday. Introducing his original song “Wannabe,” he quickly quipped, “not that ‘Wannabe.’” Although of all the words in the English vernacular, it is odd he couldn’t find another pick for his new track on the upcoming EP, “Wear & Tear,” out Aug. 21.
Not surprisingly, a few people came to check out the performance wearing David Beckham’s jerseys, perhaps hoping for a celebrity sighting. The rocker’s parents, who’ve been very supportive on social media, weren’t at the gig, but it would’ve been a distraction, taking rightful attention away from the up-and-comer.
Beckham’s songs, particularly “Better Times,” “Optics” and the singalong anthem “Yeah Yeah Yeah” are incredibly catchy numbers that seem destined for radio in the near future. In them, Beckham’s voice offers a nuanced pop/rock husk and he’s quite skilled on the guitar, shredding a few solos in the 45-minute set, including on a deft cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.”
In his originals, Beckham is clearly influenced by both British music invasions, 1960s guitar rock and 1990s Brit pop, marrying the two in a modern amalgamation that should make the Gallagher brothers a wee bit worried. Yet, when someone in the crowd shouted out a call for the band to play “Wonderwall,” Beckham jokingly retorted, “we don’t take requests.” You can only imagine how many times he’s had to field that from Spice Girls fans. In his “Wannabe,” Beckham is more overt about his love for the Beatles, including the lyrics, “I wanna be John Lennon.” One of his guitars also bears a strap emblazoned with “Get Back.”
The lot of it hinted at a deep sincerity for his craft. Twenty minutes before the set began, Beckham was on stage unassumingly tuning all of his own guitars. And on Instagram, he recently posted, “Holy S—, our first festival. I always say it, but I would write songs and play every day of my life even if no one was watching, this feels like a surreal moment. We promise to put on the best show we possibly can.” Which he and the band did.
By the end, the crowd was shouting for an encore and a line assembled near the barricade waiting for autographs, which Beckham happily gave. It’s the stuff of rock stars, and he is well on his way to being one.