Swifties can celebrate ‘Life of a Showgirl’ release live at Chameleon themed night

Since announcing her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl” on Aug. 13, Taylor Swift fans have been counting down the days until Friday’s release.

Spokane-area fans would be welcome to listen to TS12 on their own, of course, but listening in a room full of fellow Swifties is undoubtedly more fun.

With their “The Party of a Showgirl” event, the team at the Chameleon is inviting fans to wear their best orange and teal outfits, make a few friendship bracelets and dance all night as a DJ plays “The Life of a Showgirl” in full along with some of Swift’s biggest hits and fan favorite deep cuts.

“The Party of a Showgirl” kicks off at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Cam Joslyn, a talent buyer at the Chameleon, said themed events have been part of the venue’s event calendar since the beginning. Past events have been themed around indie rock, Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, 1990s and 2000s hip-hop and goth industrial music.

“We’re trying to bring a more full encompassing experience, musical experience and entertainment experience, at the venue, which means not just focusing on live music, but also providing opportunities for people to come out and do dance parties and nightclub-type events,” he said.

The success of most themed nights comes down to a mix of how excited people are for a certain theme and the success of the promotional materials. If a theme is well-received, chances are high the Chameleon will plan another event around that theme. If not, the venue sees that as a chance to pivot to a different theme or promote the event through different channels.

Joslyn was optimistic “The Party of a Showgirl” would be a successful event, noting the DJ will build a fun rapport with the crowd while playing Swift’s songs. Plus, there will be party favors for those in attendance.

“The Party of a Showgirl” is organized by a Seattle-based promoter called What the Dance, specifically their brand 22 and good 4 u, which focuses on Swift and similar artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and One Direction.

“They put on a lot of different dance nights here at the venue so we’ve created a really good partnership with them, where they throw really, really good dance parties, and we provide the space for it,” Joslyn said.

Upcoming themed events include “No Broke Boys” on Oct. 10, a locally produced event centered on tech house, house and garage music; a Religious Traumedy event themed around Halloween on Oct. 24; a French house and disco Halloween event on Oct. 31; an Elton John tribute night on Nov. 1; and Emo 2000, a night of emo music, on Nov. 28.

Attending a themed night is an easy way to support the Chameleon who can in turn support local musicians, Joslyn said.

“These dance nights are an easy way for the venue to sustain itself through slow periods,” he said. “For touring musicians, with us being in the PNW, we really only have a few months a year that touring musicians come through because traveling through the (Snoqualmie Pass) and traveling through snow is really difficult, so if people are looking for ways to support their community and the music community, showing up to the venue and going to events like this is a way to do so.”