King Princess Kicks off in Nashville

Nashville was graced with King Princess’s presence on the first stop of her Girl Violence tour on October 25. KP’s last Nashville tour stop was 5 years ago at the same venue, Marathon Music Works, and she returned this month after the release of her record sharing the same name of her tour. Opener Sasami brought the punk energy that the audience needed to get up on their feet before KP took the stage. Interacting with the crowd and using every inch of the stage, Sasami electrified the audience with her dynamic pop music. Making reference to the genres of metal and punk, she and her drummer blended together different styles of music and performance that drew everyone in from song to song. She even brought a French horn at the end of her set to further prove her diversity as a musician. 

Shortly after Sasami’s set, King Princess’s band took their places as the audience standing at the barricade cheered them on by name, showing how dedicated they were to KP and her band. KP herself joined her bandmates as they played the intro to “Cherry,” a track from the recently released EP of the same name. Although the EP was released a week before the show, fans shouted every word back to the singer. KP began the show with songs from her recent record and EP, but she performed songs throughout her entire discography such as “The Bend” and “Cheap Queen.” Acknowledging her expansive music history, KP spiced up the setlist by getting a crew member to roll a massive die with older tracks on each side, along with some fun twists including a side that would allow a “fan vote” for the chosen song and a side that would make the band take shots. In classic Nashville fashion, the die landed on the side for taking shots and KP allowed the audience to choose between two songs, which led to the decision to play “Ain’t Together.” 

After the excitement of the die throw, KP changed up the mood by announcing that she would play her sultry hit from the series Arcane, “Fantastic.” The audience lit up even more for the announcement of this song, showing that she may have gained some fans from the success of the aforementioned Netflix show. The rest of the show highlighted KP’s recent record and EP, along with a couple throwbacks, and it was easy to tell that the singer curated her setlist to match the themes of “girl violence.” The crowd never experienced a dull moment as KP marched around the stage and interacted with her fans. Fans new and old could find a multitude of reasons to enjoy this show, and King Princess has set a high bar for the rest of her Girl Violence tour across North America.

- GC Moorman

Photos Courtesy of GC Moorman (For Bell Music Magazine)