The Wiltern (Los Angeles, CA)
11/14/23
On November 14th, pop artist Chappell Roan brought her “Midwest Princess” tour to The Wiltern in Los Angeles, California. Performing a sold-out show at a 1,850 capacity venue was inevitable from the start of her career. Kayleigh Amstutz, better known by her stage name Chappell Roan, recently skyrocketed to stardom with the release of her long awaited debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, earlier this year. In 2020, her song “Pink Pony Club,” which she wrote with Grammy Award winning songwriter Dan Nigro, gained immense popularity online. Her three independent singles, “Naked in Manhattan,” “Femininomenon,” and “Casual,” were also met with similar success.
Chappell posted the themes of each night of tour on Instagram, encouraging the audience attending to have fun with it! Themes included pink cowgirl, rainbow, slumber party, space, and more – all correlating with album track titles and lyrics. As fans lined up around the block for the show, they were decked out in their best red and black “My Kink is Karma” outfits. It was obvious that some of these fans had been following Chappell for a while based on their outfits and energy, whereas others were being dragged along for the ride. However, none of that mattered once the lights dimmed and the music started.
Chappell kicked off the night with the upbeat hit “Femininomenon” dancing across the stage and waving to fans at the barricade. She followed this with “Red Wine Supernova,” in which the audience shouted out the ad libs and background vocals without her even having to ask. From this point on, it was obvious that everyone in the crowd was having the time of their lives. The crowd never missed a beat the entire night as they stayed completely engaged with the whole performance. One of the best moments of the night was during Chappell’s song “HOT TO GO!” where she asked for audience participation in a dance number. Similar to the iconic “YMCA” dance, she showed the crowd the gestures that correlated with her lyrics. During the chorus, the packed crowd danced along with smiles adorning their faces.
It’s apparent that Chappell Roan is the next big thing in music. With a successful debut album and a headlining tour selling out nearly every date, her popularity just keeps climbing. Next year, she is opening for Olivia Rodrigo on her North American “GUTS” tour. I can’t wait to catch her live again in 2024!
