Coming through Chicago at about the halfway mark of her ambitiously extensive headline tour, the ever-charming singer songwriter King Princess made her Salt Shed debut last week. Bringing along the utmost talented Sasami to rev up the evening more than warmed up the eager fans before her set; she lit a fire in that room that fueled the show’s energy for the rest of the night
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Sasami on tour before and ever since then I have been itching to attend another one of her performances. Opening for King Princess on a tour called Girl Violence just made perfect sense, given that Sasami delivers a dynamic sound that is powerfully striking and heart piercing. Starting off strong she commenced with her anthemic song, “Honeycrush,” which solidified a promising follow up to her last masterpiece of an album, Squeeze. She performed a modest amount of material from said album including the explosive song “Need it to Work” and “Call Me Home.” Interluding her set with a french horn solo performance, Sasami really brought her all to the stage for how brief the set was! She concluded her set with “Slugger” which perfectly left the crowd buzzing and ecstatic for King Princess.
Getting to see King Princess on such a massive stage was worth getting excited about and she of course spared no square footage use of her stage production. It mimicked a life-size billboard defaced with graffiti as well as art from the current Girl Violence era. It towered perfectly behind the stage, making it a little bit easier for everyone in the crowd to be able to see. (Always a positive when artists utilize platforms!)
Though her new album came out in September, King Princess has also released an additional single titled “Cherry,” which has now been the opening tune for the tour. She essentially played her entire new album, excusing just one track from the setlist that is also the only one with a feature so it made sense (“Say What You Will”). I was truly impressed with King Princess’ ability to engage with her crowd and keep them in tune with her. I have seen her before, but this show was a special one as she seemed the most vibrant version of herself. Sprinkled in generously throughout her set; she performed many familiar hits that have graced indie pop lovers' ears as far back as her 2018 breakout singles “1950” and “Talia.”
From the rapid traction King Princess got right off the bat to where she is at now, it’s obvious KP has a devoted following that has stuck and grown with her from the very beginning. With such momentum launching her already successful career, I have no doubts that King Princess has got what it takes to truly have the limelight shine on her.
All photos by Andrew Lagunas.
