Chappell Roan's biggest crowd yet for headlining show was in rural Iowa

On the outskirts of Council Bluffs sits Westfair Amphitheater, where Thursday night, 15,000 fans assembled to see pop sensation Chappell Roan.

The show came during Roan’s first week at the number-one spot on the Billboard Artist 100 after a meteoric year for her career. It was also her third and final Iowa performance this year, and the audience was the largest that Roan had ever had for a headlining show. And just like her show at Hinterland this summer — the crowd came dressed to impress.

Devil horns, red lace and black leather was abundant as concert-goers adhered to the show’s theme, “My Kink Is Karma.” The excitement inside the amphitheater was palpable, and anticipation grew throughout the drag openers’ set and a considerable delay to the start time.

Roan has recruited local drag artists to open for her shows all throughout the Midwest Princess tour. The three local drag queens who opened Thursday’s show were Daphne Danger out of Iowa City, Mimosa Savage from Omaha and Des Moines’ Domita Sanchez . All three acts performed medleys of popular songs: Danger had the crowd dancing along to Charli XCX’s viral “Apple” track , Savage had people shouting along to famous Lady Gaga quotes and Sanchez wowed the audience with lots of high kicks and splits. Their acts and witty onstage banter got the night off to a fun start.

Then, Roan’s set was delayed 30 minutes due to heavy traffic outside. A message displayed onstage read “Thank you for your patience. Due to traffic entering the venue, we are holding the show so as many guests can enter as possible.”

Finally, at 9:30 p.m., four and a half hours after gates opened, the Midwest Princess and her band entered the stage. The screen read “Greetings from Chappell Land” as every member made their entrance. Roan donned an on-theme red bodysuit, which she had previously worn for her Berlin show.

She immediately went into fan-favorite songs from her debut album The Rise And Fall of a Midwest Princess (which is currently sitting at second on the Billboard 200 Album chart), powering through “Femininomenon,” “Naked In Manhattan” and “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.”

“It’s very good to be back in the Midwest, baby!” Roan exclaimed. “Not too far away from southwest Missouri!” Roan hails from Willard, Mo., a small town of just over 6,000 people.

She then sang “Love Me Anyway,” a standalone single from 2020. She kept the slower songs coming with “Picture You,” a ballad she performed to a wig on a mic stand. The serenaded wig was part of the Statue of Liberty costume that she wore for The Governors Ball Music Festival earlier this year.

The most surprising part of her set came next, when she said she was going to play her favorite song. Suddenly, a familiar guitar riff emanated from the stage and Roan covered Heart’s “Barracuda.” Her unique voice really lent itself to the rock-and-roll sound of the 1977 classic.

And then drummer Lucy Ritter played a beat while Roan instructed everyone on how to do the iconic “HOT TO GO!” dance. Thousands of hands went in the air as everyone bopped along to the viral track. When Roan asked the crowd what time it was, it was of course “After Midnight.”

As band members shuffled off stage, Roan talked to the crowd a bit about how grateful she was to the Midwest and to everyone for dressing up for the concert. “I’m so lucky I get to clock into work and wear this,” she said, in contrast to what she wore working for the Nebraska-based Scooters Coffee chain.

“Yes, gay people exist in the Midwest!” she shouted. “Flyover states, there are twinks in all of them! There are dolls in all of them!”

Roan then got a bit sentimental. “Where you are, exactly who you are right now, you don’t need to be anything more, and you are loved and cherished for who you are. I love you and I cherish you and that’s coming from a gay bitch from the Midwest,” she said. The intimacy continued as she sang “Coffee,” accompanied by only an acoustic guitar. She kept the slower pace into her most famous ballad, “ Casual .”

“You’ve been nice, so I’m gonna play a new song,” Roan said as she segued into an unreleased number, “Subway.” As you'd expect, some concert videos of “Subway” have already made their way onto the internet, so plenty of fans knew the words to sing along. The quality of Roan’s live vocals really shone through as she hit an impressive sustained note towards the end of the track.

Her first hit and her most recent hit came next, “Red Wine Supernova” and “Good Luck, Babe!” These high-energy queer anthems had the crowd passionately belting along.

Roan acknowledged that she usually dedicated the next song, “My Kink Is Karma,” to her ex, but this time, she dedicated it to her debut album being a chart-topper over a year since it was released. Imagery from the music video flashed behind the band as everyone in their themed outfits let loose to the banger.

The final touching moment of the set came in her second-to-last song, a ballad called “California.” In it, she sings about a very personal experience of feeling out of place in California and missing her “dying town” in Missouri. It was a sentiment that seemed to resonate with a lot of her Midwestern audience.

And last, but certainly not least, Roan got everyone dancing and screaming along to her hit “Pink Pony Club.” The coming-of-age track was fitting way to finish out the homecoming show for the Midwest Princess.

There was a magical quality to the entire experience, not only because of the significance of the performance in Roan’s career but also because something like this may never happen again in a place like rural Iowa. Chappell Roan is one of the most popular singers in the world right now. She's appearing on Saturday Night Live! Nov. 2 , and her next tour will likely take place in venues that hold many more than 15,000 people.

Yet, a handful of loyal Midwesterners had one last opportunity to dance and sing along to their favorite songs in a small hometown setting. That’s a night to remember for any music fan.