By: Kayla Middleton
Chappell Roan brought the ‘Pink Pony Club’ to Houston, Texas, for her stop in The Midwest Princess tour on October 29th at The House of Blues. Her fans were dressed to impress for a night of singing, dancing, and screaming heartfelt lyrics back at the Missouri native. This tour takes the audience through her discography beautifully, covering older songs while also celebrating the release of her newest album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The queer pop star’s show is one you wouldn’t want to miss.
As I entered the venue, I was greeted by fans in chrome, alien makeup, and NASA jumpsuits. On her social media, Roan announced tour themes for each stop, and for this section of dates, the theme was Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl: “We’re leaving the planet, and you can’t come!” The outfit request for Chappell was space, and seemingly everyone in the audience was excited to comply as the room filled with fans dressed the part perfectly. As we approached the first set of the night, if you were unfamiliar with the Roan, you prepared for another singer to take the stage at 8 p.m. Instead, Chappell invites drag queens to perform as openers for the show. This night, queens Hanna Santanna, Lila Dubois, and Deonte Majors set the night off with a bang. The crowd cheered for the drag queens as they danced across the stage and through the crowd to begin the night with fun and cheers as everyone prepped for Chappell’s set.
After the amazing show from the queens, the crowd waited with anticipation, and before we knew it, the house lights began to dim for the Midwest Princess. Chappell’s red hair, chrome outfit, and high energy electrified the stage as she opened the night with Femininomenon, Red Wine Supernova, and After Midnight. She welcomed everyone to the show and then continued to dance the night away with songs such as Picture You and Casual.
Chappell spoke frequently throughout the show about her experiences and feelings, making the show feel very personal and intimate. She jokes about her mother’s dating rules, and she laughs and says, “She knows what she wants,” and it flows perfectly into Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl as the next song of the night. Audience participation was key for the next song, HOT TO GO! Roan presented the dance to the audience and asked everyone to copy it. She even called upon a fan on the balcony to do the dance, and smiles were all around as they executed the HOT TO GO! dance perfectly.
The night danced on as she sang hits such as Coffee and Kaleidoscope. Chappell spoke about the community that was created here at her shows, and she’s glad that many have a safe space to be who they want to be at her shows. She gave a beautiful and powerful rendition of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga and closed the night with Naked in Manhattan and My Kink is Karma. The crowd cheered for more from Roan, and she took the stage one last time for California and Pink Pony Club. Chappell Roan is a star in the making, and I can’t wait to see her grow bigger throughout this tour and as she takes the stage to open for Olivia Rodrigo in the upcoming months.
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