When Kesha goes on tour, she likes to make the most of her time in a new city. Case in point: When her Only Love Tour recently stopped in Denver, she spent a rare night off chasing ghosts around the famed Stanley Hotel.
“It’s where Stephen King wrote The Shining, and after ghost-hunting there with my friends last night, this morning I saw a frozen dead man,” Kesha told Vogue from the road. “He was cryogenically frozen in the 1960s and now is being kept naked, wrapped in a sleeping bag, hung upside down in a house outside the hotel, next to a pet cemetery.”
Even now that she’s traded brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels for sitting front row at New York Fashion Week, Kesha hasn’t given up being a loud-and-proud freak; she did, after all, once claim that she’d had sex with a phantom. It’s part of the reason she’s found such a devoted following, one as enamored with her early club hits as with her more vulnerable later recordings.
“I felt like my album Gag Order was truly art made with the intention of personal, spiritual excavation, and I wanted my live show to transport my fans to the inside of my head,” Kesha says. “I have a newfound freedom in my life and I have recreated some of my biggest hit songs in a way that I can find a newfound joy in [them]. I always find joy when I share the music with my animals.”
To commemorate the end of the Only Love Tour, Kesha shared some exclusive snaps with Vogue from her life on the road.
Photo: Natalie Ventola / Elias Mallin1/9“First, I wake up in my bunk. I have a bedroom on the bus, but I sleep better in the bunk. I usually wake up with a little makeup from last night’s show and crazy hair.”
Photo: Logan Schyvynck2/9“After a shower and a smoothie, I go to sound check. I’ve been adding songs depending on what I hear the fans want… I’m always listening to the animals and what will make them happy.”
Photo: Kesha3/9“I get dressed up and explore the city I am in for the show. I try to hit the local vintage shops, art museums, delicious local restaurants, and always try to visit the local wildlife rescues!”
Photo: Kesha4/9“I start glam in the late afternoon to get ready for the show and meet and greets. This tour I have been leaning more minimal than ever before, embracing more natural tones. I’ve been learning to embrace my freckles and a more natural look. All part of the process of learning to love myself without trying to cover up or distract as much as I used to.”
Photo: @jakobwandel5/9“Walking the streets of NYC in my custom Christian Siriano opening outfit makes me feel like a fucking unicorn. My looks are themed as different sides of my personality and different animals. This one is a beetle, the second look a jellyfish, third look is an orca. and the last look is just punk.”
Photo: @jakobwandel6/9“My new show is very different than any other show I’ve ever done, but at the end of the show I cover myself is glitter just to remind everyone who I am and where I came from. You can take the glitter off the girl but you can’t take it out of my blood.”
Photo: Sandra Sampayo / @magicseedco7/9“After my show I go take some pictures and say hello to my fans! I love seeing the tattoos they all get from whichever song speaks to them the most, and many people travel from far away to come see the show. It’s always an honor to meet the people that support me and have for my entire career. I wouldn’t be here without them!”
Photo: Sandra Sampayo / @magicseedco8/9“After I played the second show at the Ryman in Nashville, I went to Roberts to make my crew and my fans some shots of whiskey in celebration. Apparently, my pour is strong!”
Photo: Derek Tabada9/9“After the show is the after party. After the party is the truck stop. every time it feels like Christmas… you never know what treasures await!”
