Live Review: Chappell Roan // O2 Academy, Glasgow, 15.09.24

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On the afternoon of the 15th September at approximately 4pm I found myself on a platform at Edinburgh Waverley station playing “spot the Chappell Roan fan” while waiting on an express train to Glasgow. Hidden amongst the commuters and shoppers were scatterings of cowboy boots, camo print mixed with pink ribbons, and in some cases flamboyant pink dresses and cowboy hats. While looking up and down the platform I caught one camo wearer’s eye and smiled, she smiled back and nodded and I realised then that the feeling I had of belonging to an exclusive club was mutual.

The club in question is Chappell Roan ticket holders, a concert which became seemingly impossible to attend for anyone new to Roan’s music. Despite releasing her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess in September 2023, Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise to fame didn’t fully take off until after the tickets for the European leg of her Midwest Princess Tour had already sold out in March 2024.

Following the tours sell out, Roan released her new single ‘Good Luck Babe’ which, along with a number of festival appearances, a spot on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour, and an NPR Tiny Desk Concert caused her exposure to skyrocket. According to Billboard, Roan began the year with 2.51 million US on-demand streams, a number which rose to 68.36 million by June 20th. Another chart shared by music data platform Chartmetric tracked Roan’s monthly listeners on Spotify from 1M in September 2023 to 40.11M by August 2024.

Image shared by Chartmetric on X: https://x.com/chartmetric/status/1824189265531769111

In spite of the two venue upgrades for the Glasgow show, which was originally planned for St Luke’s then SWG3, the show that took place at the O2 Academy was still in a venue too small to contain even a fraction of her new fanbase.

A few hours later on our way to the venue with my friend, who was clad in a sparkly bodysuit and hot pink cowboy hat, we were asked by some pub patrons where everyone was going. I told them we were going to Chappell Roan and one member of the group gasped and told us to have the best time. Between this interaction and the groups of desperate fans begging for spare tickets outside the venue, it truly felt like we had a golden ticket to one of the most elusive gigs in town.

Adding to the feeling of exclusivity is of course the fashion show I found myself tracking throughout the streets of Glasgow and up the long venue queue. While concert attire being somewhat themed is hardly a new concept, what makes Roan’s shows more exciting is her allocation of specific themes and inspiration for each show. Our theme was Midwest Princess, an early 00s moodboard of camo print mixed with feminine touches such as pink ribbon and blingy rhinestones. Past themes have included ‘Pink Pony Club’, Slumber Party, Mermaid, and ‘My Kink is Karma’, some named after Roan’s songs, others simply inspired by them.

Of course many fans went off-theme, settling for inspiration from other tours, Roan’s music videos, and high glam drag. Roan has become well-known for her high concept show fits, with drag queens often cited as one of her biggest inspirations, leaving plenty of options for outfit ideas.

True to brand, in lieu of musicians, Roan has been known to platform local drag artists as her opening act. For Glasgow we were treated to the talents of Miss Peaches, Chucky Bartolo, CJ Banks, and Rhiannon, a fun group who danced their way through high energy pop numbers and set the tone for the show to come.

Opening the show with the hype-tastic ‘Femininomenon’, Roan appeared in a camo print ball dress, reminiscent somewhat of a beauty pageant and perfectly on theme. This shortly disappeared in favour of a more dance friendly outfit consisting of a camo print corset and hot pants, a combo which allowed Roan to kick, swish, and dance her way across the stage all night like a true rockstar.

From the ‘Femininomenon’, through ‘Naked in Manhattan’ and ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ the crowd were instantly enthralled and Roan was only getting started. Following the opening numbers the crowd began to chant, in true Glaswegian fashion, changing the words from the usual chant of “Here we, here we, here we f*king go” to “Chappell Chappell Chappell f*king Roan”, a moment of appreciation she took to savour.

While many of Roan’s heavy hitters are big dance-along powerhouses, as a vocalist she also has a wide array of softer melodies in her arsenal, including ‘Love Me Anyway’ and ‘Picture You’ which gave the crowd a moment to rest, sway, and bask in Roan’s vocal talent.

Much like Roan’s album, the concert followed an eb and flow of energy, moving between periods of high energy pop beats and more demure and sentimental songs. Next up came ‘Guilty Pleasure’ which hyped the crowd back up in time for the infamous ‘HOT TO GO!’ dance tutorial where Roan invites the crowd to participate in chorus choreography, an element which elevates an already energetic song. Though the crowd was tight in some spots, there was more than enough room to gleefully dance along without injury.

At this point in the show Chappell took a moment to show her gratitude for the crowd’s welcoming energy and to explain her desire to create an openly queer space at her shows, assuring the crowd that this was a welcome place for them to be themselves. It feels important for me to acknowledge the lovely group of people we were stood with who were all singing and dancing together despite us being mostly strangers. It truly felt like the atmosphere these shows promised to be and I don’t blame anyone for tears that were shed in this moment of the show, both by the crowd and by Chappell herself as she found herself emotional and forgetting the opening words to ‘Coffee’, her next song.

It’s often remarked upon how good British audiences are at singing along at shows, creating chilling backing choruses for often dumbfounded artists. While Roan stumbled over some of her lyrics and allowed the audience to catch her during ‘Coffee’, she also took a moment to simply listen during ‘Casual’, a crowd pleasing song about navigating a “situationship”.

Running through the remaining songs from the The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princes, ‘Red Wine Supernova’ and ‘My Kink is Karma’, plus newer songs ‘Good Luck Babe’ and ‘The Subway’ (currently a live show exclusive), the final portion of the night felt the most energetic. Roan bounced across the stage with her hair flowing behind her hypnotically, the crowd screamed along in front, and from where we stood dancing with strangers, the venue felt like home.

Following another quick chant and some ground quaking stomping came the encore. ‘California’ is a soft ballad about Roan’s struggles with attempting to launch her music career back in 2020, and ‘Pink Pony Club’ is a sleeper hit from the same year which underperformed at the time. Piecing the two songs together as a fitting double feature painted a powerful story, allowing ‘Pink Pony Club’ the pride of place it deserves. There’s something beautifully triumphant to be felt in hearing a song like this, about finding community in a gay bar, live with other queer attendees by your side making it the perfect end to the night.

Though some numbers featured plenty of colourful lights and minor choreography with the band, the show itself was a mostly stripped down affair, allowing Roan’s undeniable stage presence to truly shine. At one moment in the set I noticed that the light was hitting her just right to cast a giant shadow across the right hand side of the venue and I couldn’t help but watch that remarkable figure as it sashayed and loomed across the crowd. It felt an apt symbol of Chappell Roan’s stardom and the hopefully ever growing career ahead of her.

Words by Camille Murray


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