REVIEW: Chappell Roan | 10.1.24 @ FirstBank Amphitheater [PHOTOS]

Chappell Roan
FirstBank Amphitheater; Franklin, TN
October 1, 2024

Review by Philip Obenschain. Photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship.

There is, perhaps, no single artist (certainly not in the pop space) having a more spectacular 2024 than Chappell Roan, whose debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, dropped just over a year ago to positive, yet muted praise. At this point, the 26-year-old Missouri native’s story is pretty well-known- she started uploading music to YouTube as a teen more than a decade ago, attracted label interest, inked a major label deal ahead of a 2017 debut EP, but ultimately struggled to break through in those early years, ultimately getting dropped by Atlantic and moving back home for a stint, before settling back in Los Angeles and re-teaming with producer Dan Nigro, who’d go on to helm Roan’s debut (as well as Olivia Rodrigo’s acclaimed recent records). The point is, Chappell is neither a new artist, nor the overnight success some casual fans might assume her to be, and these massive last several months, which have seen her ascend to near-headliner status of festivals where she was originally slated to play small stages, dominate the charts months after her album’s release, achieve viral fame on TikTok, and infamously become the subject of headlines and even SNL parodies for setting personal boundaries and expressing political opinions, have been then whirlwind culmination of years of hard work from one of pop’s most gifted, unique, and deserving young artists.

Chappell is no stranger to Nashville- she first came to Music City as an opener at Mercy Lounge as far back as 2017, and headlined both The Basement East and Brooklyn Bowl just last year as the buzz ahead of Midwest Princess was mounting. She also supported Olivia Rodrigo at Bridgestone Arena back in the spring, and appeared at Bonnaroo over the summer, where she was originally set to play a tent, but grew so popular in the months between the fest’s announcement and the event, that she was bumped to a main stage and drew one of the largest crowds of the weekend (a trend which also extended to fests like Coachella, Governor’s Ball, and Lollapalooza). She’s in the unprecedented position of being an artist who’s fame is vastly outpacing her touring capacity, and what smaller shows she already had on the books, and what handful of additional dates she’s been able to add, have been some of the hottest tickets of the year (it’ll likely be 2025 before Roan has a chance to announce a larger tour to meet demand, and even then, she seems to be wisely scaling up at a manageable pace while navigating her overwhelming new success). We were pleasantly surprised surprised when she recently announced her largest Nashville area headliner yet, at Franklin’s FirstBank Amphitheater in between festival dates, and, as expected, demand for the show- which only has 7,500 seats- was incredible (remember, Roan has barely announced new dates since blowing up, so every new Chappell fan in the country is dying to see her anywhere they can). Though she undoubtedly could fill Bridgestone Arena twice over, getting to see Chappell one more time in a more modest venue was a real treat- especially in such a transcendent moment of her career- and an experience we won’t soon forget. Read on for our full review and photos of what’s likely to be one of the final dates of The Midwest Princess Tour.

I’ve only been to FirstBank Amphitheater a handful of times, and while I think it’s a gorgeous venue and a cool new addition to the local musical landscape, I found the traffic last summer to be so poorly designed, that it was borderline deal breaker for most shows. I obviously wasn’t going to pass this one up though, and giving myself plenty of extra buffer, I found it significantly quicker to get in this time (though I heard closer to showtime it became more congested), and I applaud the venue for doing happy hour drinks in their parking area snack stand for those early arrivals. Taking my seat in the reclaimed stone quarry turned performance space after killing some time outside, I was much further in the back than I’d been at prior shows, but was happy to discover that there really isn’t a bad seat in the house- FirstBank is small for an amphitheater, and has a nice line of sight from all over. The place was packed early, and though Chappell’s music is very reflective of her queer and Gen Z identity, I found her crowd to be really eclectic, spotting people from all walks of life around me (as a 30-something straight millennial guy, I’m surely not her intended demo myself, but if these last few months have proven anything, it’s that EVERYONE loves Chappell Roan).

Rather than a conventional musical opener, Chappell has been inviting local drag queens to perform ahead of her set, and for Franklin, she recruited Coqueta, Aquamarine, and Miss Alexa Noelle, all performers you can see around town at clubs like Play. I’ve only ever seen drag in small clubs or in like a drag brunch setting, so it was a very different and interesting experience to see how the art form translated to a large stage, and while I do think it’s more suited for that up close and personal club environment, those divas absolutely crushed it, each giving a roughly 10-minute performance to a medley of mostly millennial anthems. Miss Alexa Noelle, also doubling as the de-facto host of that opening performance, recounted first meeting Chappell last year at The Basement East, which really speaks to how entrenched in drag culture Roan has always been, and how much it informs her own style and even the Chappell Roan persona (which, beyond just a typical stage name, the performer- born Kayleigh Amstutz- describes as almost an alter-ego, or a form of drag, often reflected in her costuming, especially at festivals).

Delayed just a bit- apparently to account for some traffic congestion- Chappell took the stage a little after 9:30, launching into earnest, party-starting anthem “Femininomenon.” The theme for the night- as pre-announced- was Midwest Princess, and the singer and her band were decked out in camo to match, met by a sea of fans in similar attire- camo, pink cowboy hats, and a few other stray and campy Roan references, like the Statue of Liberty fit she wore at Gov Ball. This is the third time I’ve seen Chappell this year (an envious position to be in, I know), and after an abridged and understated opening set for Olivia Rodrigo, and an absolutely electrifying (yet scorching hot midday) show at Bonnaroo, I was so thrilled to see her at a performance that was all her own, at such an exciting time in her career. Functionally, it wasn’t that different from ‘Roo (save for the inclusion of a few more slow songs), but the full scale of the production was dazzling, and being surrounded by nothing but diehard Chappell Roan fans really added to the energy of it all. I’ve seen a lot of clips online of concert etiquette going out in the window post-Covid, especially at big pop tours, but thankfully that’s not something I’ve really experienced in Nashville, and this crowd was no different- people were dancing, singing along, getting really into it, and bringing good vibes without screaming at the top of their lungs or enjoying themselves at the expense of those around them (I know these tickets were super hard to get, so I’m glad they went to so many clearly huge fans).

The opening stretch of the show was really upbeat and set a great tone for the night, moving onto dreamy synth pop singalong “Naked in Manhattan” and dance-primed retro club tune “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.” Roan’s core band- guitarist Andrea Ferrero, bassist Allee Futterer, and drummer Lucy Ritter- were flawless in recreating the vibe of the record (even if, live, it was maybe slightly less retro-synthy as Nigro’s production) and are showcased much more prominently than at some similar pop shows (a lot like Roan’s friend and tour mate Olivia Rodrigo actually), really giving the vibe of Chappell fronting a band rather than being the sole center of attention. Since she doesn’t have backing dancers or other extra personnel on stage, the band members also gives the singer someone to bounce off of, and really provide a great live dynamic. After a couple more tunes, including the one and only “old” song of the night, “Love Me Anyway” (which technically dropped after first Midwest Princess single “Pink Pony Club” way back in 2020, but didn’t ultimately wind up on the LP), Chappell drew the biggest audience participation of the night with “HOT TO GO!,” a cheerleading chant-inspired anthem with its own, easy-to-learn dance, which about 90% of the crowd participated in in unison. All throughout the show, a giant screen alternated between live footage, and some great visuals, often campy illustrations in-theme with the songs, like, in this case, an cartoon cheerleader Chappell, adding a nice bright and whimsical extra layer to the dazzling stage lights.

As I mentioned already, the main difference between this show and the one I saw a few months ago at Bonnaroo was the addition of some of the album’s slower tunes, “Coffee” and “Kaleidoscope,” which Chappell played back to back, stripped down and earnestly, even admitting that while she really likes those songs, she struggles to play them live (she’s said something similar about “Guilty Pleasure,” the only Midwest Princess track that has been omitted from the setlist). Though I think the upbeat, anthemic, shimmering pop really is spectacular and feels like the essence of Chappell’s sound, her music really does have a lot of rawness and personal thematic focus, and that shines through the best on the more subdued tracks. She saved some of the biggest singles for the final stretch of course, and following the slower tunes, she took it back up a notch with midtempo, confessional favorite “Casual,” before performing unreleased new single “The Subway,” then cranking up the energy once more with a personal favorite of mine, “Red Wine Supernova” (I’m not sure if there’s such a think as an underrated Chappell Roan single at this point, but that might be the closest thing to it). The other newer song of the night, and undoubtedly the single that helped catapult Roan into a new stratosphere of fame (and strong contender for song of the year), “Good Luck, Babe!” followed, prompting an unbelievably enthusiastic singalong, and reasserting, for like the 12th time, why Chappell is the most essential pop star of this moment.

By the closing stretch of “My Kink Is Karma,” “California,” and, of course, “Pink Pony Club,”- the introduction to Chappell for many, like myself, several years before her breakout fame- the show felt like it had flown by all too swiftly and magically, even though it encompassed nearly every well-known song Roan has in her repertoire. Unlike some of her more decadent festival appearances, these headlining shows have focused much more on the music, and Chappell Roan, beneath the character, beneath the camp, beneath the cool outfits and headline-grabbing opinions and influence on pop culture, in an unbelievably talented performer and songwriter, one who took years of striving for success to became so confident and seasoned and magnetic in her craft. In the moments between songs, from telling jokes to expressing gratitude, to praising the drag openers and empathizing with the queer community in oppressive southern states like Tennessee, the stunning ascent she’s experienced and the rarity and magnitude of this year she’s having is so clearly not lost on her, and though, quite reasonably, navigating it has seemingly been daunting at times, she’s clearly a star ready to meet the moment, and one with a long, important, and substantial career ahead of her. Rather than going straight to filling arenas, her next move seems to be to block off time to work on new material and to give herself a breather, and I have no doubt that when Chappell returns, hopefully early next year, we’re in for an incredibly special next chapter. Given that this tour took her from Brooklyn Bowl to Bonnaroo to FirstBank Amphitheater all on the same tour, I truly can’t wait to see what’s next.

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Setlist:

Femininomenon
Naked in Manhattan
Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
Love Me Anyway
Picture You
HOT TO GO!
After Midnight
Coffee
Kaleidoscope
Casual
The Subway
Red Wine Supernova
Good Luck, Babe!
My Kink Is Karma

California
Pink Pony Club