Pop sensation 26-year-old Chappell Roan returned to the stage in Franklin, Tennessee at the FirstBank Amphitheatre on October 1 as part of her Midwest Princess Tour. The performance follows her recent cancellation at the All Things Go Festival in Maryland and New York where thousands of fans expected to see Chappell perform. Her fans were happy to see her back on the stage, not making any mention of the recent cancellation and not showing any signs of quitting anytime soon.
The concert tickets were highly sought after, with fans rushing online for tickets to see Roan at the 7,500-seat open-air venue. The show sold out in just minutes, but after realizing scalpers had bought a large chunk of the tickets, Roan canceled their purchases and resold the tickets to fans in a lottery back in September, selling out the venue once again.
Chappell, who draws on drag styles and theatrics in her own performances had local drag artists Coqueta, Aquamarine, and Miss Alexia Noelle perform exuberant numbers to warm up the crowd. The artists wore their dramatized makeup and outfits, prancing around the stage and showing off their talents. Chappell asked fans during her set later, “Oh, you like the queens? Those are your local queens … so tip them, b****. I know times are tough right now … but girl, that is how you support your local queer community.”
Returning back to Tennessee for the first time since her successful Bonnaroo performance back in June, Chappell delivered another great show. The theme of this show was “Midwest Princess,” which Chappell signifies with clothing patterned with hunting camouflage. Her first outfit of the night was a camouflage ball gown styled dress. The crowd followed along with her style choice, wearing camouflage and tiaras.
Chappell took to the stage late around 9:40 p.m. due to traffic issues at the venue. She opened with the upbeat sexual anthem “Femininomenon” followed up with her queer discovery song “Naked In Manhattan.” After a quick costume change, Chappell came out in a camouflage corset and boy shorts paired with fishnet stockings. Throughout each song, her signature vocal flips and amazing range were evident as she effortlessly danced and sang at the same time, a skill she trained for months to perfect.
Her performance was full of energy, accompanied by lyrics and visuals popping up on the digital screen behind her. Surprisingly, Chappell included the slow unreciprocated-love song “Kaleidoscope” that she wrote about falling in love with her best friend, a song she has previously neglected to play because of its emotional nature. She also included her unreleased song “The Subway” which she has performed at many concerts this past few months.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Chappell leveled with her fans and told them a heartfelt message: “I know how hard it is to be queer in the Midwest and South. And I understand. And so, I’m very grateful that I can be here and show up — and clock into my job, and I just have to remind myself that this is why I do it. … I can see you and feel you. I needed this so bad when I was 15. I felt so completely misunderstood and alone.”
For the show’s encore, Chappell gracefully sang out the longing words of “California” before ending with the super popular story of the “Pink Pony Club,” a fictional song about a girl who lives in the south inspired by drag culture longing for a safe space to be herself. The concert was a great way to welcome back Chappell Roan after a period of uncertainty. Chappell’s performances never disappoint and her vocals are always on point.
Franklin, Tennessee Setlist:
Femininomenon
Naked In Manhattan
Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
Love Me Anyway
Picture You
HOT TO GO!
After Midnight
Coffee
Kaleidoscope
Casual
Subway
Red Wine Supernova
Good Luck, Babe!
My Kink Is Karma
Encore:
California
Pink Pony Club
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan