CHAPPELL ROAN (Manchester Academy)
Verdict: The new power of pop
When Chappell Roan kicked off their sold-out UK tour with this show in Manchester, it was hard to escape the feeling that we were witnessing the coronation of the next big pop star.
The Willard, Missouri-based singer was virtually unknown when her debut album, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, came out in September 2023, but her career has recently taken off with such speed that it now seems unstoppable.
The atmosphere at this small, club-like concert was electric, and Roan seized the moment with gusto. Backed by an all-female three-piece band, and dressed in lilac cowboy boots and a mermaid-themed leotard decorated with seashells and pearls, she twirled and high-kicked around the stage as she belted out her catchy songs to a predominantly female audience.
Roan, 26, could have played a bigger venue, but she was still a cult phenomenon — or “womanhood,” as one of her songs puts it — when this concert was announced in January, and she clearly wanted to prove herself in an intimate setting before taking on larger stages.
Chappell Roan to perform at Manchester Academy on 13 September 2024
The 26-year-old took her name from her late grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell, and his favorite cowboy song, The Strawberry Roan.
With no giant screens, columns of fire or confetti cannons to add to the spectacle, it was a refreshingly classic evening. Special effects were limited to a wind machine that ruffled her long red hair and a few clouds of dry ice.
Her fans, many of them dressed in outfits as colorful as her own, reveled in the show. Roan is adept at expressing the emotions of her young fans with simple, recognizable songs, and the dedication she inspires is evident. One fan cried tears of joy after being unexpectedly gifted an extra ticket outside the show. Afterward, I heard the phrase “best concert ever” repeated as the faithful headed home.
The singer, whose real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, is unabashedly over-the-top. She adopted her stage name in honor of her late grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell, and his favorite cowboy song, The Strawberry Roan, and considers Chappell Roan her “drag persona” — a high-stakes alter ego that informs her fashion sense and allows her to be more open (and, often, risqué) in her lyrics.
Buoyed by its magnificent songs, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess finally topped the UK charts in August, and provided the bulk of the material here.
Roan has dated both men and women, and his music is candid about his sexual awakening, romantic misadventures and LGBTQ culture.
The “rise and fall” of the title refers to how he spent his 20s working at a drive-thru coffee shop after his initially promising career temporarily stalled.
Joined onstage by Lucy Ritter’s compact drums, Allee Futterer’s thumping bass and Andrea Ferrero’s raucous guitar, she unleashed a series of perfect sing-along songs while bringing a rock-oriented crunch to songs that have a more polished, electronic sheen on the record.
Picture You was a soulful ballad with a doo-wop feel. Red Wine Supernova nearly shook the roof. On Pony Club, she sang about her first visit to a Hollywood gay bar, while the cheerleader-style crooning of HOT TO GO! was accompanied by a cheesy dance routine evoking memories of the Village People’s disco hit YMCA.
Beneath that glamorous exterior also lurks a softer, more nuanced artist. Roan was signed to Atlantic Records for five years as a more serious, folksy performer, and gave us a glimpse into her roots as a “depressed girl” from a small town in Missouri on the acoustic ballad “Coffee,” sung with only guitarist Ferrero at her side.
Roan sang hits like Pink Pony Club from his latest album Good Luck Babe!
For now, though, she’s making waves as a flamboyant star in the tradition of Madonna and Lady Gaga. Unlike many of her peers, she’s also an organic success story. While Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter come from a Disney background and Taylor Swift was cut from the Nashville hit factory, a teenage Roan launched her career by posting music on YouTube.
Now he’s planning ahead. This 70-minute set will need more details as he climbs the live ranks, but he’s already adding new material to his repertoire. Highlights of this show include the non-album single Good Luck, Babe! and the as-yet-unreleased melodramatic ballad Subway. This was a triumphant first night, but for Chappell Roan, the party is just getting started.
Chappell Roan will play at London’s O2 Academy Brixton tonight and tomorrow (ticketmaster.es).
The best of the new releases:
LONDON GRAMMAR: The Greatest Love (Ministry Of Sound)
Once paralysed by anxiety, Hannah Reid is now a confident and assertive frontwoman, and her heavenly voice takes centre stage on London Grammar’s fourth album.
Reid, who became a mother for the first time this year, combines folk textures with dramatic turns that reflect her classical training.
“This is my place, my home, my rules,” she sings on House, and You And I takes the form of a letter to her younger self.
The title track adds epic orchestral touches while keeping the trio’s alternative pop credentials intact.
London Grammar’s Hannah Reid to perform at Birmingham’s O2 Academy in 2021
Cover of The Greatest Love by London Grammar
NELLY FURTADO: 7 (Polydor)
Back with her first album in seven years—and her seventh overall, hence the title—the Portuguese-Canadian singer shifts styles effortlessly.
The effect is scattered, and there’s nothing as immediate as 2000’s I’m Like A Bird or 2008’s Broken Strings here, but Furtado’s versatility is an asset as she duets with Colombian band Bomba Estéreo on the Latin-tinged Corazon and Swedish star Tove Lo on the dance number Love Bites.
She shows a more soulful side on All Comes Back, sung alongside fellow Canadian Charlotte Day Wilson.
Nelly Furtado performs at the 16th Annual Artists for Peace and Justice Fundraiser during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024
Furtado poses with the number seven on her back for her new album
FLOWERS: Gary (ODD SK)
The Stockport quintet build on their twangy guitar roots by adding smooth funk and blue-eyed soul.
They’ve also recruited a new guest, witty Irish singer CMAT (Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) who helps evoke Blondie’s Rapture on I Like Your Look and contributes a New Order-style flourish to Why Do I Give You The Worst Of Me?.
Singer Tom Ogden’s lyrics are also clever: Big Star is the story of a Los Angeles trendsetter and the title track is the strange, but true, story of a giant fibreglass gorilla stolen from a Scottish garden centre.
The Blossoms perform to a crowd at Sefton Park in Liverpool on May 2, 2021
Cover of Blossoms’ album titled Gary
Track of the week:
BAD DREAMS by TEDDY SWIMSTHE
The Atlanta singer follows up his smash hit Lose Control, streamed over a billion times, with a laid-back country-soul number.
Having dazzled at the Reading and Leeds festivals, he returns in November for a sold-out show in London.