The Rise of a Midwest (Pop) Princess: Chappell Roan Brings Spectacular, Theatrical Show to Pasadena

Chappell Roan loves L.A. The 27-year-old pop superstar couldn’t stop telling the crowd at her massive Pasadena show Friday night. With nearly 40,000 people gathered, by Roan’s own estimation, it’s clear L.A. loves her right back.

The fairy tale-themed concert, part of a string of pop-up shows Roan dubbed Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things, took over Pasadena’s Brookside at the Rose Bowl on Friday night. The golf course used typically for larger events was a fitting venue for the hours-long affair, which felt more like “Chappell Roan: The Festival” than a regular concert.

Fans were treated to a slew of pre-show activities, including several photo ops, food trucks and performances. RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Trixie Mattel kicked off the night with a DJ set along with opening performances from drag queens, as Roan does with all of headlining shows.

The overall feeling in the air at Friday’s performance was joy. Throughout the concert grounds, there were hoards of fans dressed in the night’s theme, mermaids, decided by Roan herself, “Pink Pony Club” inspired looks and Roan merch. Concertgoers ranged from families with young kids, playing around the Brookside grounds waiting for the main act to take the stage, to Gen Z and millennials to older fans. The general admission festival nature of the space allowed people to spread out and lounge on blankets until Roan went on stage shortly after 9 p.m.

Taking the stage following a retro cartoon intro, Roan — dressed in a sparkly olive green costume completed by a bedazzled trident — waltzed around the castle-like stage belting her poppy B-side “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.” The 18-track setlist included nearly all of Roan’s 2023 breakout album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, along with newer songs (“The Subway,” “The Giver,” “Good Luck, Babe!”) and a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda.”

Technically speaking, Roan already brought Midwest Princess to L.A. for a headlining show back in November 2023. The show, which Roan called out during Friday night’s performance, had an estimated cap of 2,500, according to Roan. A true reminder of how meteoric the Grammy Award winner’s rise has been in the last two years.

The crowd hung on Roan’s every word, and she seemed extremely in tune with the gathered audience. Early into the show, she signaled to crews to help a concertgoer, telling the fan after she finished the song, “I see you, and I’m going to send medic to help you.”

She certainly brought her signature playful nature, calling out someone rolling their eyes at her and at one point pointing out a dad in the crowd who wasn’t learning her now-iconic “HOT TO GO” dance. She joked that he looked really nice so she’d leave him be. Later in the show, during sapphic country anthem “The Giver,” she even called out a few audience members mid-song, cheekily asking between lines, “Are you tired boys because this is a lesbian song?”

The onstage banter morphed into a genuinely emotional speech towards the end of the show, speaking to the crowd atop a throne on stage. “L.A.’s my favorite city in the world. It’s the best place in the world,” she told the cheering crowd, explaining that she’s lived in the city for nine years and struggled during the first five years she’s lived there.

“I appreciate this city. I lived in Altadena, which is close to here,” she said. The singer told the crowd she’s never loved L.A. more than when she saw the community come together to help Altadena and the Pacific Palisades during the deadly wildfires earlier this year. She added, “I’m so lucky to be able to live here and to play here. This city has taken care of me, and it’s only my duty to take care of it back.”

Roan, at a loss for words over the emotion of the moment it seemed, paused before saying, “I don’t know, fuck ICE, forever,” which earned loud cheers from the crowd. She reiterated the sentiment before explaining she was very nervous, especially to be playing in front of an L.A. crowd because she feels like everyone is aware that music industry people are in attendance. She urged the audience to enjoy the show like they were kids again before jumping into her next song.

The grand finale was — no surprise — Roan’s hit single “Pink Pony Club,” originally released in 2020. The song exploded last year and entered the Billboard Hot 100 four years after its release, only peaking earlier this year at No. 4. “This is for you L.A.,” Roan told the crowd.

The crowd sang along to every word, a heartwarming and joyous end to a night of pop stardom at its peak.