It was a cold, rainy Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. Yet, thousands of fans kept filing in to see the two put on a phenomenal performance. As soon as Kesha Rose and her crew consisting of both band members and backup dancers stepped on stage, the crowd rose to their feet, standing up for the rest of the concert. Kesha started off the show with her jazzy hit "Woman" off her Grammy Nominated album, Rainbow. Fans of all ages sang along to the profanity-laced chorus with her. Kesha sang some of her old songs, but a few new ones too, like her song “Praying", a heartfelt slow song about her abusive ex-music producer, and “Bastards", a song about not listening to the haters. Kesha's setlist was absolutely breathtaking, and the added visuals of the colorful spaceship filled my eyes with delight.
But my favorite moment of her set was when she sang her hit song "Take it off." In the middle of the song, Kesha encouraged people to throw clothes at her when the chorus came up. Fans were so into the song, some even threw their bras into the crowd. "Aren't you guys cold?" Kesha joked. She later explained that the clothes thrown at her would be used for an art project. The heavy rain did not crush anyone's spirit, and the zest for good music carried the night.
In the second half, Macklemore stole the show. He started off with his hit " I Ain't Gonna Die Tonight", featuring Eric Nally on vocals. The horn and saxophone players did a great job of keeping the excitement of this song, with Macklemore giving it his all on this one. He played other fan favorites throughout the night, including the fast-rapping Willy Wonka (he was dressed as Willy Wonka and threw candy bars into the crowd. He even improvised and rapped about him taking an Uber to the Janet Jackson concert the night before on Offset's portion of the song.) Thrift Shop, White Walls, and Can't Hold Us, which were both featured on his Grammy-winning album, The Heist. In the middle of can't hold us, Macklemore told the crowd to put their phones away and began to crowd surf at Ray Dalton's portion of the song. The energy in the crowd was enormous. He finished his set with the party anthem "And we danced", "Good Old Days", the Kesha and Macklemore duet reminiscing song, and the finale: "Glorious.", where cannons of colorful confetti filled the air to end the concert.
Macklemore's last words before leaving the stage were, "We'll be back, Hershey!". We hope Macklemore and Kesha will keep their promises.