Kesha celebrates her freedom with KC fans at Morton Amphitheater’s first show
Pop star Kesha made her way back to the Kansas City for the first time in nine years. This time, she returned as a free woman.
The 39-year-old singer had the honor of opening the new Morton Amphitheater, a 16,000-person-capacity arena backed by Live Nation located in Riverside on Wednesday, June 3.
She’s the first of more than 35 acts to visit in its inaugural year, and future artists have quite the bar to reach.
The appropriately named Freedom Tour comes two years after Kesha launched her record label Kesha Records and three years after the conclusion of a near decade-long legal battle with her former producer, Dr. Luke, who she said sexually assaulted her. The fight was tied into her contracts with RCA Records and Kemosabe Records, which is owned by Dr. Luke.
Throughout her show in KC, she gave thanks to her fans who stuck by her side and continued to show support during her lowest points.
“I’m grateful that you’re here with me tonight, and I really need for you to know that I love you,” Kesha said to the 10,000+ fans in attendance. “You truly are the love of my life.”
Kesha celebrated her newly found status as an independent artist for over 90 minutes, using new production on her chart-topping hit songs and many fan favorites that before her run of tours in 2026, she hadn’t performed in over 13 years.
Adult and teenaged fans donned their best cheetah print attire, fishnets and glitter as they heard fresh takes on songs like “Blow,” which charted as high as No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Instead of the upbeat dance tune on the original recording, Kesha slowed it down, jamming along on an electric guitar with a deeper and booming instrumental track blaring throughout the venue.
The moodier track played inside the Morton Amphitheater paired well with her voice, reflecting how much stronger and more mature it is compared to when the song released 15 years ago.
“Blow” was one of the songs 17-year-olds Ray Nibro Jr. and Myah Gomez were most excited to hear, even though they would’ve just begun to learn how to walk when it was playing on radio stations around the country.
They arrived at the venue at 3 p.m. — a full 2 1/2 hours before the gates opened — because it was a special occasion: Kesha marked KCK native Nibr’s first-ever concert.
“I always just loved her music, and it resonated with me a lot, especially during my high school times,” Nibro said. “She was an artist I’d always go listen to.”
The two, along with fellow friends Annie Hartley and Noah Rice, were seated in the general admission lawn area so they could have more space to dance around to their favorite songs.
Inside Kesha and the first show at Morton Amphitheater
The party didn’t start until Kesha walked in, and she kicked off her show with her most popular song, “TiK ToK,” rising up from the middle of the stage wearing a set of light pink heart-shaped wings
The bedazzled wings and bodysuit were shining from the spotlights as she changed her once-iconic opening line “Wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ like P. Diddy,” to “Wake up in the morning like, ‘F--- P. Diddy’,” in response to the hip-hop artist’s physical violence, sexual abuse and sex trafficking charges.
Kesha didn’t stray far from her high-energy start, only using three interludes at separate intervals as opportunities to change into a new attire.
Her voice was heard loud and clear throughout the venue, and the quality didn’t drop as she rode on the shoulders of one of her four male backup dancers while high-fiving fans as she sang parts of “Crazy Kids,” “C’Mon” and “Thinking of You.”
Lights flashed red and white colors as lyrics to her song “Joyride” appeared the circular screen in the middle of the stage while Kesha and her team of dancers performed, and a similar display occurred during “Attention!,” where the song title was shown on the screen in many popular brand fonts like 7-Eleven or Budweiser.
She did slow it down a little bit during her acoustic portion, where she told stories of sharing a large bed with psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips in Nashville, Tennessee, while writing “Past Lives,” or the time hip-hop artist Macklemore backed into her car in his hometown of Seattle while they were working together on “Good Old Days.”
Treats like this were more than welcome to 21-year-old Kyla Marshall, who said she bought a ticket to her first-ever show mere hours before the gates opened. The Parkville native said Kesha was all she listened to growing up, and decided to make an impulse decision.
The “party animal” persona Kesha had in her early career years were formative to Marshall, and it’s a big reason as to why she’s continued to support the artist over the years.
“I love the specific vibe she gives off,” Marshall said. “It reminds me of home.”
Kesha, who was born in Los Angeles and lived in Nashville for the majority of her life, is who she is, and it’s hard to deny her appeal to fans both young and old. Not a bad first show for The Morton Amphitheater.
What songs did Kesha sing?
Kesha performed these songs in Kansas City on her Freedom Tour:
- “Tik Tok“
- “Only Love Can Save Us Now“
- “Warrior” (shortened)
- “Crazy Kids“ (shortened)
- “C’Mon“ (shortened)
- “Thinking of You” (shortened)
- “Blow“
- “Sleazy“ (shortened)
- “Boy Crazy“
- “Cannibal“
- “Delusional“ (shortened”
- “Take It Off“
- “Attention!” (shortened)
- “Joyride“
- “Origami!“
- “Yippee-Ki-Yay“ (shortened)
- “Timber“ (original song by Pitbull)
- “Red Flag”
- “Dinosaur“ (shortened; with “Whip It“ by Devo snippet)
- “Past Lives”
- “Good Old Days“ (original song by Macklemore)
- “Die Young“
- “Cathedral” (shortened)
- “Praying“ (shortened)
- “Your Love Is My Drug“
- “We R Who We R“
