The Next Great Pop Star: Chappell Roan at The Garage, London, 13/6/2023 | Gigwise

A high to chase

Lucy Harbron
12:15 13th June 2023

I have a new rule for myself - i only go to gigs i’m genuinely excited about. Sounds basic or superior, but when you work in music it’s easy to burn out and become unphased, hard to impress, stood at the back with your arms crossed, not a sing along in sight. But now i’ve changed course - i’m in pursuit of a very specific feeling. The feeling of being 16 and powerful, racing my way into a venue after carefully planning an outfit and queuing for a good spot.

I want to dance. I want to scream. I want to throw my body into a most pit as if it isn’t 25 now. I want to be giddy. And when the email landed in my inbox, inviting me to Chappell Roan’s debut UK show, that exact feeling of joyful girlhood has been coursing through my veins since the second i replied “OMG YES PLEASE.” I put on my pinkest dress and joined the legion of girlypops at Islington’s Garage. The energy was immaculate, imagine the fashion olympics of Harry Style’s Love On Tour without the fights or the million pound ticket price or if Harry had drag queens as an opening acts.

Because that’s how our night started. Platforming local queens, Chappell not only writes hits for the queer community but widens her spotlight for it. It’s a perfect start, getting the entire room involved in an impassioned sing along to Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. Within moments in the venue i’ve abandoned the balcony at the back, i need to be amongst it, i need a stranger to compliment my dress and jump around. I battle through to the near-front.

And then she emerges. Chappell has been an obsession of mine for a year now. She’s the biggest gift TikTok has ever given me as ‘Pink Pony Club’ landed on my For You page last summer like a present wrapped up in a sparkly bow. Continuing to give us a string of perfect pop tracks, merging silly, unique lyricism with over-the-top yet balanced instruments, in my opinion, she’s the ultimate pop star. And as she bounds onto stage in a sequin show-girl get up and dive straight into ‘Naked In Manhattan’, hitting every note with ease - my opinion is proved right.

How to even pick out highlights from a night that only got better with every moment? As the crowd sang along to every track, Chappell seemed genuinely touched that her music had travelled like this. Even when she dove into the backcatalogue, right back to her early folk-EP days, the crowd was there with her. And her latest single, ‘Red Wine Supernova’ proved to be one of the loudest crowd pleasers as everyone in the room screamed the bridge back at her. But when she’s writing bits as amazing as “baby let's get freaky, get kinky, let's make this bed get squeaky” - who can resist?

Looking round the room, everyone feels how i do. For an hour or so, everyone is a teenager again, beaming up at this artist that not only brings joy but brings powerfully, identity affirming confidence as she writes love songs, heartbreak songs, silly songs, lustful songs all about being queer and young and free.

As we reach the encore, screaming out for one more song as if our lives depend on it - ‘Pink Pony Club’ is like a hymn with the audience raising their hands in the air for this sparkly god. It’s a hit, a pure, good old-fashioned campy pop hit. And that’s what we’re all here for.