Given the New York kickoff, it was no surprise to see concert-goers nodding to Chappell’s many specific references. One fan, Christian, sewed and glued fiery red Rapunzel-esque curls to a thrifted, oversized gray blazer—a nod to her recent music video for “The Subway.” There were also homages to the Statue of Liberty costume the singer wore to debut the song at Governor’s Ball last year. “I’ve been up since 7 a.m. doing my makeup,” says one attendee, Evangeline, whose full-body paint job took a team of four friends.

Dedication to Chappell also manifested through beauty. A fan named Cyn embraced the sad clown look—“Who can’t relate to that?”—complete with a tiny homemade jester hat and teardrops made of parchment paper, hot glue, and dusted with Anastasia highlighter. “I’ve been practicing my makeup the past week,” they say. Meanwhile, Honora’s nails—depicting butterfly wings and mosaic glass—took a friend back in D.C. roughly six hours to create.

Photographed by Caroline Xia

Photographed by Caroline Xia

For others, though, simple slogan tees more than sufficed. One attendee paired her “Boys R Sus” baby tee with an “I Heart Hot Moms” baseball cap. Meanwhile, Tony, who brought his two young daughters to their first-ever concert along with his wife, rocked a “Girl Dad” T-shirt that he was gifted for Father’s Day.

The enthusiasm extends beyond the Queens stadium. Earlier in the day, a fan named Zoe competed in a Chappell Roan lookalike contest at RiseNYC for floor seats to Tuesday’s show. “I didn’t end up winning, but there were a lot of really cool 
people there,” she says. “We hung out together afterwards.” She shows me a photo she took with the winner, whom I immediately recognize—not because of her resemblance to Chappell, but because it was my childhood friend, Emily. I text her about the run-in and send her some photos of people we’ve seen today. “I love gay people,” she writes back.

Fans were eager to see what Chappell had in store for her own look. It didn’t disappoint. The singer hit the stage in a burgundy pirate outfit—sword and all. Later, she changed into a vampy corset. At one point, during a more balladic section of the concert, Chappell addressed the crowd, reminiscing on being a 13-year-old who just wanted to dress up and wear makeup. “You’re welcome here however you show up today,” she said.