If you’ve missed these, here’s Day One and Day Two!
The Way Out West Saturday started out with another nice encounter on the bus ride. In anticipation of the day’s main attraction, I had worn my ‘I hope she plays HOT TO GO’ t-shirt, that I had ordered special. Getting on the bus, a nice young man tapped me on the shoulder and said he loved my shirt. Got me instantly in an even better mood going in for the last festival day.
Arriving at the festival’s main stage area just around 1.30pm, it was clear the biggest Chappell Roan fans were already stationed at the barricade for best spots, it was T-minus 9 hours…
The first artist we aimed to shoot was Greentea Peng early in the day on the big Azalea stage. The London-based singer-songwriter fuses neo-soul, psychedelic R&B and even reggae into her own boundary-pushing sound. Her voice sounded rich and soulful, and her stage presence felt rather magnetic.
From there it was on to the tent stage for Sweden’s own Omar Rudberg, who has been building his music career on the back of his strong background as a child star in the boyband FO&O. He has of course won international acclaim for his acting work on Young Royals, and that fame has meant he often has fans travelling to see his performances from faraway places. Omar has the dance moves and the charisma, and his song material is starting to catch up to that level of star quality.
Next up on my list of artists to check out was Montell Fish, a Pittsburgh-born artist, whose music blends his gospel roots with lo-fi R&B, neo-soul, indie rock and ambient soundscapes. His performance relied on quite minimal instrumentation, letting his intense voice do the talking.
Back to the Linné tent to see Hurula, who just might be the most prominent representative of traditional guitar-based rock music in Sweden at the moment. He has clearly gained a larger and larger following with every single album, and the latest one was just released on the day of the show. This was also his only gig this summer in Sweden, so there was a sense of anticipation and a strong energy among both the fans and the band. The raw emotion, gritty guitars and deeply personal songwriting have put him where he is today.
South London’s breakthrough star and BRIT School alumn Lola Young was up next. She’s had a meteoric rise to fame thanks to her raw talent and powerful vocals, and of course that viral Tik Tok moment with Messy. On stage she was quite captivating, and her powerhouse singing was paired with some no-nonsense banter. And she is definitely not a one hit wonder, she’s already shown that with songs like One Thing.
One of Sweden’s most compelling pop artists, Daniela Rathana, showed that she can command the biggest of stages. She delivered an intense and immersive performance with theatrical flair and dramatic delivery. The band looked very stylish as well, looking especially cool when engaging in coordinated movements with the singer. Especially her singing sidekick Alex Malinao made an impression. The content of song material really is quite deep and dark, and she also made strong references to her Christian faith, even bringing a priest to preach on stage.
While watching Daniela, my email inbox pinged with word that I would not be one of the chosen few to shoot Chappell Roan. While this was a bit of a disappointment, it was clear from before that the chances were very slim. I also knew the photographers would be placed very far, at what is called Front of House, or where the soundboard is located. So in actual fact, I was happy to be able to embrace the show as a fan and try to get as close as possible. This meant however, that I would need to skip photographing Pink Pantheress, who I really would have loved to shoot.
After dropping off the heavy camera gear at the press centre, I was back at the main stage to see the end of Daniela’s show, it was T-minus 2 hours… When some of the crowds dispersed after the set was finished, I was able to get in place just a couple of people away from the barricade, next to the big screen on side-stage. It was tight and when people around me decided to sit down, I was pretty much stuck standing up and unable to move more than a few inches for the next 1,5 hours. But Chappell was of course so abundantly worth it.
Chappell Roan has been my number one favorite for quite some time now, and she was THE reason I was at Way Out West for my first time ever. She is serving witty and cheeky lyrics with perfectly crafted catchy pop hooks. Her artist persona is fearless and exudes campy excess in a drag queen kind of way. She is unapologetically queer and emotionally charged.
It is quite a feat to be able to carry a whole headlining set at a festival with just one album under her belt, but The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is not just any album – it is a future classic with no skips. Every song is pop perfection.
The castle stage set and her fairy princess like costume were invoking fantasy in a fun and campy way. The crowd around me was living for every minute of the show and sang along to every song. She kicked off with high energy with Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl and Femininomenon. Everybody around me was totally into it, singing along and looking at Chappell starry-eyed, gushing words of adoration to their friends. Chappell’s recently released The Subway was one of the highlights, and when it was followed by Hot To Go!, we were in the territory of core memories being created. She taught the dance moves to the crowd, and most of the people obviously already knew them, and she was complimenting the rest with ‘At least you’re trying, I know you didn’t come here for me…’
The only cover song of the set was of course Heart’s classic Barracuda, which Chappell delivered in a very convincing hard rock kind of way. Having shed most of her costume by this time, she was a vision to behold in the archway of her castle tower. We had a couple of ballads showcasing her perfect live vocals, and then it was back to fun and up-tempo with The Giver’s country stylings and Red Wine Supernova’s flirtatious camp energy.
Her big breakthrough hit Good Luck, Babe! naturally broke the bank and the crowd was going wild once again. This was followed by another sing-along favorite My Kink is Karma, and for the grand finale, what else but the party anthem that is Pink Pony Club! She had everybody jumping up and down in pure joy and pretty much shouting along to the words. And we’re all gonna keep on dancing!
She was simply FEMININOMENAL, and fulfilled every bit of my sky-high expectations. Chappell truly deserves all the love and the accolades she has been getting and I hope she is in for a long and fruitful career, on her own terms.
Text and photos: NINA UDDIN
