Kelsea Ballerini Wows Chicago With One-Night-Only Show For SiriusXM & Pandora

Last night, Kelsea Ballerini delivered a one night only show in Chicago, IL exclusively for SiriusXM and Pandora. The unforgettable event packed out The Riviera Theatre with a lucky group of SiriusXM subscribers and fans who snagged tickets after entering for a chance to attend.

While the venue was much smaller and more intimate than the arenas Ballerini played on her headlining tour earlier this year, she still made it feel massive. Between her powerhouse energy, dazzling light show, and set list that featured everything from her early hits to her newest tracks, the room full of fans were captivated all night long.

The crowd was already buzzing thanks to the SiriusXM and Pandora DJ, but the night truly kicked off when fans’ wristbands started to flash in time with the beats on the darkened stage, building anticipation for Ballerini’s arrival. Eventually, the country star’s vocals lit up the venue with her first performance of the night. She started off by taking fans back in time with her debut single, “Love Me Like You Mean It.”

Ballerini commanded the stage in a shiny burgundy jumpsuit with an off-the-shoulder top and a sleek cutout, paired with matching patent leather boots. As she made her entrance, Neon pink letters appeared on the wall behind her, putting the lyrics to the early hit on display. However, it was clear that the crowd didn’t need the extra help as they sang along flawlessly, never missing a lyric or beat.

“Chicago, are you ready to start unpacking with us?” she asked as she grabbed her guitar and began delivering tracks off her latest album, PATTERNS.  

After starting off strong with “Baggage,” the Tennessee native celebrated true friendship by diving into the empowering “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” and “Heartfirst” off 2022’s Subject To Change project. She then shifted gears momentarily to perform her one and only cover of the night, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”

Fuchsia pink flowers danced across the screen as Ballerini approached the mic, pausing to thank SiriusXM, Pandora, and the fans in attendance. She opened up about how performing for a room full of devoted listeners is a “beautiful, healing, connective thing,” and admitted that on this particular night, she really needed that connection.

“I want to tell you that we have not gotten to play a show for you guys since tour ended a couple months ago and we have so been looking forward to this night with you. Thank you so much to SiriusXM and Pandora for letting us come to Chicago,” Ballerini gushed. “I missed you so dearly. I think there’s this beautiful healing connective thing that happens when I get to play music with you and candidly, your girl needed it this week so thank you for being here.”

The show continued with Ballerini tapping into more tracks off her latest project including the title track, “We Broke Up” intermixed with emotional confessions off her fan-favorite Rolling Up The Welcome Mat collection with songs like “Blindsided,” “How Do I Do This,” “Mountain With A View,” and more. At one point, she even hopped off stage to get up close with her front row fans and belt out “Muscle Memory.”

The 15-song setlist rounded out when Ballerini returned to the stage for a final encore. This time she was wering a fluffy fur coat and sat on a barstool with an bright white lights being the oly thing to light up the stage. The lights came from the back wall and flacked tward, surrounding Ballerini. She got candid as she told the crowd, “I may need a little extra help with this one tonight if you don’t mind” before delivering an unforgettable and moving and powerful performance of “Penthouse.”

The 15-song setlist came to a close as Ballerini returned for a final encore, this time wrapped in a fluffy fur coat and seated on a barstool under stark, bright white lights that cut through the darkness of the stage. Beaming from the back wall the lights surrounded her, making for a stunning scene to set the tone for her last song of the night.

Turning to the crowd, she candidly admitted, “I may need a little extra help with this one tonight if you don’t mind,” before delivering a raw and emotional rendition of “Penthouse” that left the audience captivated.

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Overall, this was a very special night for Chi-town’s country music fans, one they, and Ballerini, won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Kelsea Ballerini’s performance will air in its entirety on SiriusXM’s The Highway (ch. 56) on Friday, October 3 at 11am ET and will also be available to stream anytime on the SiriusXM app.