Photos by Skyler Wendell, Sidelines
Story by Sarah Baczewski
Festivalgoers arrived at Chappell Roan’s set exhausted from Saturday night’s shenanigans at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, but, as the hit Chappell Roan song goes, they left as “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girls.”
Chappell Roan carried the excitement from Saturday night’s packed crowds into her 3 p.m. Sunday set at the Which Stage. Roan encouraged her fans to come in their flashiest outfits, igniting excitement throughout the festival grounds.
The over-the-top fashion was hard to miss as Bonnaroovians trekked from set to set. Sparkly disco ball totems and pink bedazzled cowboy hats bounced up and down as fans chanted to “Red Wine Supernova” in the Tennessee heat.
Joyous smiles radiated from her beloved fans when Roan took the stage in full drag makeup. She sported a blue and yellow latex set with white gogo boots. Her heart earrings labeled “nurse” swayed as she advised her Pink Pony Clubbers to hydrate.
When Megan Hill heard that Roan was apart of this year’s Bonnaroo lineup, she couldn’t have been more excited to play dress up. She immediately ordered pink fishnets to pair with a pink bikini top and bottoms. She hopped in her car to travel six-and-a-half hours from Columbus, Ohio, to see the artist fans lovingly refer to as the Midwest Princess.
Hill usually screams along to “Good Luck, Babe!” on her work commute, but now she joined the voices of other Bonnaroovians covered in glitter, watching the song performed in-real-life. Hill used a Winx Club palette from Colourpop to paint her eyelids in vibrant shimmers of pink.
“I never go to a fest without my glitters,” Hill said. “You find people who have similar fashion as you and it kind of makes you feel like you belong somewhere.”
Jillian Herstein felt a similar sense of belonging at Roan’s set. After listening to the singer-songwriter for years, Herstein joined her friends to see the Midwest Princess on tour at Bonnaroo. Herstein’s smile reached her bejeweled eyes as she waited in anticipation for Roan’s arrival.
“The fashion at the concerts is a great way for the fans to express themselves and also really bring their queerness and pride to the forefront,” Herstein said, pride flags waving behind her.
Herstein danced with her community wearing a pink and white cowboy hat with colorful pride-inspired kandi bracelets wrapped around her wrists.
Abel Fowler also celebrated their queer experience at Roan’s set. From Birmingham, Alabama, Fowler could not wait to see Roan perform in the south.
Fowler dressed to dance in a green spandex set paired with a pink strawberry button-up.
“She is putting on a performance not only through her music and the way she dances, but also through her album art, her drag and her makeup,” Fowler said
As a lover of drag, Fowler appreciates Roan’s support for the drag scene in places that are not typically “queer safe.” Roan’s extravagant drag-inspired makeup and outfits create a sense of belonging and connection for all of her fans.
Sarah Baczewski is a Staff Reporter for MTSU Sidelines
To contact the Lifestyles Editor, email [email protected].
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