It’s a Monday night at Goldfield Trading Post, a country-themed bar and music venue in Roseville. A sea of people, many in pink and some wearing cowboy hats, crowd the space in anticipation. After what seems like an interminable wait, a red-haired figure clad in a flamboyant purple outfit takes the stage and her fans explode into movement.
This was the scene as singer and songwriter Chappell Roan performed in front of a sold-out all-ages crowd on Sept. 25. The show was the second stop on her Midwest Princess Tour, promoting the release of her debut full-length album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” which released Sept. 22.
Roan, now 25, first gained public attention at age 17 after releasing the single “Die Young” on YouTube, which led to her being signed by Atlantic Records, according to a recent Vanity Fair article. She moved from her native city of Willard, Missouri to Los Angeles in 2018, and was able to live, according to a Rolling Stone interview last year, “out and proud as a queer woman for the first time in her life.“ She described the experience by saying, “I feel allowed to be who I want to be here. That changed everything.” In LA she found a level of acceptance she hadn’t experienced in Missouri, and the resulting sense of freedom became a recurring theme in her music.
She worked with producer Dan Nigro, who has also worked with stars like Olivia Rodrigo, on the following single “Pink Pony Club,” which Roan after about moving to LA and her experience at a famous gay bar called The Abbey. The single, released in April 2020, is now a staple of her live performances but did not perform to Atlantic Records’ expectations. She was dropped by the record label before finding success again in 2022 with hit singles including “Naked in Manhattan” and “Casual,” both collaborations with Nigro.
During the Roseville stop on her tour, Roan kicked off the show with “Femininomenon,” also the opening track of her new album. The track began with classical strings and piano before building into a synth-driven pop number. She strode across the stage, dancing as audience members bobbed to the beat in unison. Her purple top and leggings were studded with pearls and gold tassels, reminiscent of a cowgirl outfit, paired with tall, white boots. Roan was accompanied by a three-piece band consisting of a drummer, bassist and guitarist, who she danced with at various points.
Her setlist roughly followed the order of tracks on the album, and alternated between upbeat, bouncy tunes and slower ballads, such as “Casual.” These songs feature darker lyrical subject matter, dealing with breakups, Roan’s struggle to find acceptance, her move to California and the people she left behind in the process. Her ballads had audience members holding up their cell phone lights and swaying side to side, many singing along.
Most of the show consisted of songs from the new album, which Roan had been compiling since before her time with Atlantic Records. Notable exceptions included “Bitter,” one of her early singles. This song has a much darker feeling, and a vocal style similar to Lana Del Ray’s. She also played a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which the crowd immediately recognized, dancing and singing along. She closed the set with two encores, and while she played the majority of her full-length debut album, the crowd was still left wanting more.
Roan’s music and aesthetic both reflect her transition from the Midwest to LA. Her outfits and music videos display her Midwestern upbringing, incorporating items such as cowboy boots and hats, and imagery from small town rural America. These are combined with kitschy items one might find at their local thrift store to complete her style. In 2023, a Variety concert review described Roan as “glammy and pop and embracing her femininity and shared Gen-Z generational experiences, and also very queer-positive.”
Leading up to the main event were dance performances by three drag queens, whom audience members were encouraged to tip. These performers hyped up the crowd, and in between routines called their attention to a charitable cause the tour supports. Per an official press release, “Chappell has committed to donating a portion of the proceeds from every ticket sale to For The Gworls, a Black and trans-led collective that curates parties to fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits and travel assistance.”
The concert served, according to one audience member, as a “safe space” for members of the community and their allies, amid controversy surrounding gender issues across the country, as many state governments and school districts restrict freedom around gender identification.
Controversies aside, the concert was a chance for Roan’s fans to let loose and enjoy her unique blend of pop and infectious stage energy. Her rise to fame seems destined to continue, as she is slated to open for Olivia Rodrigo next year as a part of her viral Guts World Tour.
