Last Friday, March 29, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Kesha live in concert at Appalachian State’s very own Holmes Convocation Center — and it was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve ever gotten to experience.
Kesha (formerly known as Ke$ha) first appeared on the music scene in 2005, at the young age of 18, singing backup for stars like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. In 2010 she released her first single, “Tik Tok,” from her debut album “Animal.” From that point on, Kesha had immense success with her music — until 2014.
It was then that things took a turn, and problems that had been hidden early in her career came to the surface. Kesha had to check herself into rehab for an eating disorder which stemmed from years of alleged emotional and sexual abuse from her producer Dr. Luke. Following this, she came to the brave conclusion to take legal action.
Moving forward, Kesha has been focused on making the music she wants to make. In 2017, she released “Praying” which was her first solo song following the lawsuit. This was the beginning of the Rainbow era.
The concert Friday just goes to show how far she’s come from her past demons. She’s one of the few artists who still acknowledges her original music even though she’s moved onto newer sounds. Her show at App was pretty much an even mix of two eras (Ke$ha and Kesha Rose, as I refer to them).
What really stole the show was how kind and caring she was to all the fans there. She is genuinely a light on stage, and you can tell happy performing makes her. She continued to thank us for being there (and was actually told off for talking too much in between songs). Along with talking to the crowd, she signed records (and shoes), took selfies, and even got off stage to hug a fan.
If you ever get the chance to see Kesha live — do it. It’s an experience you won’t regret!
All images courtesy of Madyson Hayes