King Princess at Ogden Theater
Ogden Theater, Denver, CO | November 13th, 2025
Written by Maddie Browning | Cover image via King Princess on Instagram
“Any homosexuals?” Mikaela Straus, known by their fans as King Princess, asked their audience. The crowd erupted in cheers from the pit and upper balcony of The Ogden Theatre. Straus, who is genderqueer and uses she/they pronouns, performed at the Denver venue on Nov. 13 as part of her Girl Violence Tour.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Brooklyn writes music with influences that span pop, rock, indie, and alt R&B. She also recently made her acting debut in season two of Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
Straus released her third studio album, “Girl Violence,” on Sept. 12. It’s a whirlwind 90s-inspired record about a messy breakup, moving home, and transitioning to an indie label. “Girl Violence” has more edge and fire than her previous albums, and, of course, it’s very sexy and sapphic.
The names of previous tour stops, like Philly and Nashville, were spraypainted in black and white on a red backdrop. The cities were accompanied by an open mouth and a femme cartoon cherry with voluptuous breasts. Glowing red lights grew as Straus strided onstage. They ran up and slid their hands down the wall as the audience gasped.
Straus wore wide black pants, a silver-studded belt, and a tank with a swagger and aesthetic comparable to Shane from “The L Word.” She kicked off the show with raspy, whining vocals on “Cherry,” a track about releasing herself from the clutches of a toxic partner.
“I don't think you got feeling/ You'd sell your heart for some earrings,” they sang.
They commented on the difficulty of jumping around and singing at such a high altitude before continuing on the theme of destructive relationships with “Jaime.”
Straus spotted a sign that stated, “We rolled you a joint,” and remarked, “Well, please share the wealth.”
The sonic heaviness lifted, but the emotional weight remained for “I Feel Pretty.” Under burnt orange spotlights, she played the sticky ballad “The Bend” and flexed her arm muscles as audience members squealed.
“I just wanna feel again, I just wanna feel again/ When I get over the bend, I’m overwhelmed again, again,” they sang. Her rich, pure tone reminded me of Danielle Haim’s voice. The song burst with grief and pulled back to mostly a cappella with light guitar strums.
Aggressive purple strobe lights flashed during “Girls,” which gave some audience members no choice but to avert their eyes. Straus growled on the sultry song about loving women. “Girls/ Bring me to my knees,” she sang as she physically dropped to her knees.
“Does Denver like pussy?” Straus asked before singing the bursting, electronic track “Pussy Is God.” She gestured “The Sign of the Cross,” ending with a hand brushing down her front.
A band member brought out a comically large red dice with song titles on each side — plus an option for the band to take a shot — to determine the next track. “Trust Nobody” won, but Straus sensed that the audience wasn’t happy about it, so she played “Prophet” instead.
Straus performed her most popular song, “Fantastic.” The track is featured in the animated TV series “Arcane,” which is based on the video game League of Legends and features a sapphic storyline. Straus said they were “so proud to be part of the lesbian video game culture.”
A standout moment from the concert was “Cry, Cry, Cry,” an angsty rock song about refusing to be the bigger person anymore. “Ooooh You’re gonna cry, cry, cry when you hear this/ Ooooh And I’ll say whatever,” she sang while stomping around the stage.
Straus instructed the audience to slow dance with their partners, friends, moms, or people they thought were cute to “Homegirl.” It was a sweet moment of togetherness and unity.
Unfortunately, I had to leave a little early and missed Straus’ romantic breakout track “1950.” I will regret that until further notice, but the concert was so cathartic and brimming with queer joy.
