Tits Out: Kesha Waves Her Freedom Flag
The message behind Kesha's new music and tour, plus The Scissor Sisters reunited
Tits Out: Kesha Waves Her Freedom Flag
Kesha’s Tits Out tour hit North America this year in support of her new album .(Period). It’s the first release on her own Kesha Records label, and she’s celebrating a new sense of freedom given her decade-long legal trouble with her former label and producer.
You’d have to be pretty distanced from pop music to not know Kesha or heard her chart-topping hits like “Tik Tok,” “Praying,” and “Take It Off.” She’s been on my radar for years, but I’m unfamiliar with most of her work. Scroll to the bottom for music videos for her new music.
This is not a concert review, as I feel unqualified to write one. It’s a herald to the message behind the music and the tour.
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The Scissor Sisters Reunited
So, why was I chomping at the bit for tickets for Kesha’s show? Because one of my favorite acts, The Scissor Sisters, reunited to share the bill. The sisters broke up, or took a hiatus depending on the interview and source, in 2012 after “Let’s Have A Kiki” hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance charts and 10 years of recording and touring. The band decided to end on a high note.
The last time I saw them was 2011 at Stubb’s outdoor stage in Austin, TX on a rare headlining gig right after they opened for Lady Gaga’s tour. Their brand of rainbow pop rock (is that a genre yet? if not, I’m coining it), costuming, high energy, and sheer joy set the tone for an extended dance party. The crowd shook their asses off, and when the band asked everyone to put their phones away and live in the moment for just a few minutes, everyone miraculously complied.
Today, my GBF Dan and I both agreed that we were so blessed to catch this electric musical experience before they hung up their microphones.
I never dreamed they would get back together again.
So here I was 14 years later with husband in tow, ready to relive the glory at Pine Knob Music Theater in Michigan. And they didn’t disappoint. The trio Jake Shears, Baby Daddy and Del Marquis are the band’s heart and soul, with drummers Connor Irias and Randy Schrager, and powerhouse vocalists/dancers Amber Martin and Bridget Barkin rounding out the cast of characters. The set dazzled with risqué costuming and campy theatrics (giant boobs were tits out!), high energy dance moves, and colorful humor deeper than an ocean of Skittles.
They scratched my itch with two faves “Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.”
My emotions got the better of me when they busted out George Michael’s “Freedom” with singers Martin and Bridget joining Shears. My phone cam is crap but I caught some of it here on the jumbo screen while wiping tears from my face.
The song hits home in today’s political climate, where individuality is suffocating under political ideology. In fact, we saw a masked man standing defiantly at Pine Knob’s entrance waving a “Trump” flag - a symbol of oppression for many Kesha fans. His tiny flag paled in comparison to the night’s in-your-face symbolism of freedom and joy.
Show opener Rose Gray warmed up the crowd with her techno Brit pop set. Many of us missed the set because Ticketmaster did NOT list her name on promos/tickets (a whole other article topic). Here are some cool shots from her IG account. Detroit is the birthplace of techno, so she naturally had a built-in following.
6 Ways Kesha Heralds Her New Freedom
Which leads us to the main attraction: Kesha and the tour’s “Freedom” theme. There is a lot for the 38-year-old singer/songwriter to celebrate, and she’s making sure her independence is clear. Her message resonates with fans if the packed venue and record sales are any indication.
Her new album .(Period) was released on July 4th, 2025. Independence Day, baby! It debuted at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums & Top Dance Albums charts, per Billboard. This gives hope for other artists considering a switch from major label to indie status.
“Tits Out” as a tour theme is about sexual freedom and self-expression. “The most political thing we can do right now is love. Love ourselves and love each other,” Kesha wrote in a press release. “Americans need to have more safe, consensual sex. Our administration is so disembodied and disconnected. I’m going TITS OUT this summer to bring as much safety, fun, acceptance, love, connection, and celebration to this country because we are just as much the fabric of this FREE nation as anyone else.”
The album was released on her own Kesha Records label. She was the executive producer with the freedom to write and record without being forced to release music for a label that employed her accused abuser.
Kesha spent the better part of a decade pretty miserable as she battled for her freedom from Kemosabe Records’ contract. Here is a link to NPR’s summary of their legal battle centered around sexual and emotional abuse charges against her former producer Lukasz Gottwald, a.k.a. Dr. Luke. He also employed the moniker Tyson Trax, as Doja Cat's producer on "Say So” in 2019.
Finally free from Kemosabe Records' contract forcing her to work under the same roof (and sometimes same studio) with Dr. Luke during litigation, Kesha is once again an indie artist who released .(Period) on her own label. If the full house at Pine Knob was any indication, successfully touring as an indie artist is 100% feasible. That’s good news for all of us.
You can buy her digital album here for only $7.99 and CD here for $13.98.
The album’s opening track is titled “Freedom” with the opening lyrics:
Freedom
I've been waiting for you
Everything's changed now
We haven't talked for a while
Kesha is taking a cue from Taylor Swift’s playbook and is re-recording songs produced by Dr. Luke from her first two albums. She announced that she is performing them for the first time in 13 years on this tour.
The decapitated mannequin head. Kesha opened the show with her biggest hit “Tik Tok” carrying a bloody head by the hair that resembled herself from 2010. Throwing away the head by the song’s end effectively symbolized the messy cutting of ties with her past. The visual was jarring and creepy, as her battle with the label and producer must have felt like for so many years.
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Kesha’s New Music Videos
Let’s wrap this up with new music videos.
Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!
Thea ❤️🧡💛🎶
Thx @Mark Edward Randall for restacking. 🙂
Love that she started her own record label!