Kesha, at last, is here to take you away in her spaceship(s.)
At least, that’s what the first promo poster for her upcoming Rainbow Tour seems to infer. And if anyone has the power to transport her audience into the intergalactic regions, it’s the artist formerly known as Ke$ha. Marking her first tour as a solo artist since 2013’s Warrior Tour, a sweeping eighty-date show that spanned from the U.S. to Asia with Pitbull as her opener, the Rainbow Tour appears as though it will be slightly less about the, shall we say, “Dr. Luke agenda” of mass sales and more about Kesha’s favorite aspect of the business: connecting with fans. Especially gay fans, toward whom the rainbow theme of both the album and the tour seem targeted. Kesha reached gay icon status long ago, but her iconography just keeps getting more interesting, especially this year.
Kicking off in Birmingham on September 26, the 21-city tour (U.S. only at the moment) is likely to find Kesha continuing to shed her past aura with the performance of new singles including “Praying,” “Woman,” and the queer anthem“Hymn.” Although her struggle with depression (as rawly discussed in the video for “Praying” directed by Jonas Akerlund) has made Kesha somewhat more staid in her current incarnation, there’s no mistaking that she’s still got her signature fun-loving spirit. A lust for life, as Iggy Pop or Lana Del Rey might call it.
And, speaking of other pop culture titans, it’s likely that the original Rainbow Tour – the one Eva Peron went on in Europe – won’t be much of an influence on Kesha’s own cross-country extravaganza. For one, the costumes might actually be more bombastic, Christian Dior be damned. Kesha may have become a bit less wild in her new persona, but she certainly hasn’t lost her legendary sense of style, neon and rainbows being requisite staples of the singer’s closet. Surely the picture of her in a Day-Glo looking fringe jacket accompanied by the tour announcement Kesha made on her social media is an indication of some of the gay-as-hell costumes that are in store. As for the aforementioned announcement, Kesha’s ardor for her fans shined through with the declaration: “ANIMALS! I’m going on tour! I would not have made it to this point without you so come out and join the celebration with me. Let’s boogie!”
And boogie we shall. The Rainbow Tour hits Hollywood on November 1.
