For the past month, Chappell Roan’s face, surrounded by bright red curls, has been taking shape on the side of the Valentine Apartments in Midtown.
It’s the work of muralist Jared Horman, who is creating this outsized work to celebrate the singer’s return to Kansas City.
“It’s pretty wild how quickly her star has risen, and it's incredible to see a queer creative from Missouri continue to grow like that,” Horman says. “I’m a huge fan.”
Since Roan’s last visit to the state in 2024, she’s drawn huge crowds at the Coachella music festival, delivered a live performance for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist — not to mention her nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
And ever since Roan announced in July a series of concerts that includes two dates in Kansas City, creative fans have been finding ways to celebrate.
Horman hopes his giant gesture is finished in time. He chose the large wall near Hamburger Mary’s, on Broadway Boulevard, because Roan has said it’s where she saw her first drag show.
“I love Kansas City and I love Missouri, and, as a queer person myself, I really feel like the more we have someone like Chappell that's very visible continues to show young people this is a place where they can thrive,” Horman said.
His inspiration for the mural comes from Roan’s music video for the single “The Subway.”
“There's a shot where she's just, like, laying down, looking up at the camera, singing,” Horman said. “It's just red hair everywhere. And there's also, like, a couple of rats crawling around, which is fun and gives it that subway vibe.”
Horman says he plans to be in the audience when Roan takes the stage this weekend.
“I will be there with bells and whistles on,” he says. “My group chats are blowing up with everyone sending the outfit pics and trying to figure out if we're going full-blown ‘Pink Pony Club’ or what the vibe is.”
In search of the 'Pink Pony Club' aesthetic
Horman and his friends are not the only ones looking to make a sartorial statement. Since the concert and its theme — Pink Pony Club — was announced, fans have combed local secondhand shops looking for inspiration.
Roan uses concert themes to encourage her fans to connect through fashion and become a part of the show, and Kansas City’s is a reference to Roan’s 2020 song by the same name.
“I definitely see lots of people trying to find fun, pink items,” says Daisy Lee Vintage co-owner Courtney Fangman, who has seen a surge of fans looking for clothing that fits the theme.
Roan’s own campy aesthetic favors glitter, elaborate wigs and dramatic costumes. Her performances complete the look with a fusion of cabaret, drag and pop spectacle.
“They're going to go more theatrical for this concert, like you would for a Lady Gaga event,” says Fangman, whose vintage boutique in the Crossroads specializes in everyday pieces from the 1960s, 70s, 90s and 2000s.
To satisfy Roan fans, Fangman’s been searching for offbeat, statement pieces.
“This Chappell Roan concert has been really fun to thrift for because it is more of an event-specific type of thing,” she says. “It has given us a little bit more leeway to thrift those funky items.”
‘It is OK to be yourself authentically’
Roan’s over-the-top glamour is inspired by professional drag artists, she told viewers of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2024. And when she’s on tour, Roan regularly recruits local drag performers for her shows.
For last year’s show at the Midland Theatre, Roan tapped Kansas City artists Karmella Uchawi and Minti Varieties to open. Both say they’ll also be part of the opening act this Friday night.
When Uchawi, known offstage as Kamari Prim, opens for Roan on Friday night, she will be performing for the largest crowd in her career.
“I'm super excited,” Uchawi says. “I'm excited just to keep elevating.”
Uchawi says Roan’s unapologetically queer persona — especially during what she calls a weird and scary time — is inspiring.
“It's hard to be yourself, “but she (Roan) is really showing us that it is OK to be yourself authentically — and dress how you want and perform how you want and be who you are — and you can still be loved for it and praised for it,” she says.
Minti Varieties, performed by MarShawn Burnett, says she appreciates Roan’s rather boisterous approach.
“There's been queer artists from the beginning of time, but a lot of people aren’t loud about their queerness,” she says. “It makes people want to support her more because she just doesn't care about the norms.”
Varieties says she came away from her 2024 performance with Roan feeling valued, and the show marked a personal milestone that boosted her Instagram following to more than 10,000 accounts.
“As a drag performer, you can feel like you're limited to only performing at a bar or, like, a Pride event, but performing with Chappell Roan made me feel really special,” she says.
As for this year’s performance at Liberty Memorial, Varieties says she already has her show-stopping outfit ready for the big night.
“I will be in my Pink Cowboy couture, honey,” she says.
