Kesha Live in Austin: The Queen of Bangers

Jared Stautzenberger

Assistant Music Director

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to attend Kesha’s Freedom Tour at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin. Although the thunder tried to interfere with our plans to let loose, Kesha put on a killer performance and reminded everyone that she is the certified queen of bangers! This show was apart of the later half of her tour that supported her new album which was released under her independent label “Kesha Records.”

This marks the first time in her 17 year-long career where she is releasing music on her own terms, and receiving all the royalties for the music she wrote. The opening band Chromeo was the perfect duo to hype up the crowd. With a sound very reminiscent of Daft Punk, their set was perfect for dancing and warming up for Kesha.

When the lights finally dimmed and the large crowd surrounding me went nuts, there came Kesha entering through a stage lift. She was draped in a gorgeous corset bodysuit with beautiful angel wings, and she opened up the set with her breakout hit “Tik Tok.” Everyone including myself went berserk as we felt the 2010’s nostalgia enter the room. Although it was so early into the night, Kesha already did her own version of crowd surfing, as she walked around the venue with her dancers on the third song. I almost touched hands with her in that moment, and I probably wouldn’t have washed them afterwards either.

Kesha’s show consisted of reimagined versions of her biggest hits, which sounded amazing live. One takeaway I had was the skills she holds as a performer are phenomenal. An absolute beast on stage. Later in the set, she mixed in songs from her new album titled “.” (yes, a literal period) and brought out the opener, Chromeo, to perform their remix of “RED FLAG.” I wasn’t too familiar with Kesha’s music in recent years, but I still was banging my head and invested in the new sound she fostered. Eventually, a slower part of the show came along, where she sat down with one of her guitarists and sang “c u next Tuesday” for the first time since 2010. That was my favorite part of the night, as I was very excited to hear that track live.

The encore consisted of “CATHEDRAL.” from her new album, “Praying,” “Your Love Is My Drug,” and “We R Who We R.” This killer lineup of hits ended the night with a bang and everyone was hungry for more by the end of it. I left the show feeling ecstatic and grateful for dropping 40 dollars on tickets last minute. I grew up on Kesha’s music and seeing her live as an adult filled a void I didn’t even know was there. I recommend to anyone who grew up on Kesha, Kid Cudi, 3OH!3, Lady Gaga, or any artist from that time to go see them in concert. As someone who has seen all of the artists I just listed in this past year, it is more than worth it. Maybe the pendulum has swung back around, and early 2010’s EDM is the way to go.