Special guest? Tour pet? New do. What to expect at Chappell Roan’s two KC shows
Here’s a caution for anyone lucky enough to get close to the stage Friday or Saturday night at the Chappell Roan shows: Leave your shirt on.
If you flash your breasts at your fellow “pop stars” in the crowd — or worse yet, yawn — Roan is likely to call it out from the stage like she did at the first set of Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things shows in Queens, New York, last month.
During one show, as she sang “California” from her debut album, Roan did a double-take and laughed, saying “I just saw someone yawn. That’s insane.”
Someone needed a latte hot to go.
So we declare Kansas City a no-yawn zone. The 60,000 or so people expected to see her Kansas City shows snapped up tickets faster than you can correctly spell “Femininomenon.”
(Spoilers ahead.)
Chappell Roan’s new hair color
Based on reviews of the New York shows, KC audiences should expect show-stopping moments, a new hair color for the famous redhead, an emotional speech of thanks and perhaps a special guest.
Roan performs Friday and Saturday at Museum and Memorial Park on the grounds of the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
Rolling Stone called the New York shows “a victory lap after a meteoric rise.”
“It’s a measure of how massive her rise has been — a show that feels like a greatest-hits set, even though it’s practically every song she’s ever recorded,” the magazine wrote.
The Sept. 20 show was Roan’s first in the United States in nearly a year after a summer performing at European festivals. Without much, if any, explanation she debuted a new hair color, swapping her signature fiery tresses for a warmer, more sophisticated deep auburn.
Fans can’t agree on the new look. One fan gushed on social media, “DARK BROWN HAIR !!!! NEW ERA” (perhaps mistaking Roan for Eras Tour superstar Taylor Swift).
“Chappell without red hair is like an angel without its wings,” another fan cried..
Stage setup for Chappell Roan’s limited concert
Speaking of winged creatures ...
Roan performs on a set that looks like a massive Gothic castle with a drawbridge, parapets and a throne. (Remember when she sang “Good Luck, Babe!” at the VMAs last year wearing a knight-in-shining armor costume with Dr. Martens?)
The “Midwest Princess” has a throne on this stage. Images of mythical creatures — goblins, dragons, flying horses — flash behind her.
At one point she sits on the throne wearing a black cape while holding a gremlin doll in her lap. “This is Shigella, my tour pet,” she said. “And we’re gonna sing ‘Coffee.’”
Critics who saw the New York shows describe a boisterous, sing-along show built on 90’s guitar rock. Roan is backed by a metal band of female headbangers.
“The pop superstar’s first U.S. concert in nearly a year, under the stars at historic Forest Hills Stadium, felt like a dazzling victory lap — and a communal dance-crazed celebration for her fans,” said Rolling Stone.
She opened with “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” and “Feminomenon,” then sang through a set list highlighting her breakout 2024 album, “The Rise and Fall o a Midwest Princess,” deep cuts like “Love Me Anyway” and follow-ups, including “The Giver.”
One night, she sang “Baraccuda” with one half of the sister act that wrote and sang it first.
“After telling concertgoers that she always covers Heart’s 1977 hit ‘Barracuda’ in her shows, Roan welcomed the band’s guitarist Nancy Wilson for a surprise live collaboration,” wrote People.
Before “Red Wine Supernova” at the end, Roan will likely the crowd to hold up anything pink they have on them, prepping fans for the finale. One guess.
Really, though, anything can happen at her shows. At the first New York concert, fans covered their cellphone flashlights with Post-it notes of different colors and turned them simultaneously during “Kaleidoscope” to create a rainbow effect.
Near the end of one of the New York shows, Roan stopped singing to announce that a particularly excited fan had “flashed their (bleeps) at me.”
You’ve been warned. She sees all.
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