Chappell Roan took to the Main Stage at Reading Festival last Friday night and drew an audaciously big crowd to watch her first appearance at the festival, but did her performance live up to the hype?
The 27-year-old artist has shot to stardom in the last few years with chart hits such as ‘Hot To Go’, ‘Pink Pony Club’ and ‘Good Luck, Babe’.
I’ll start by saying that pop is far from my usual genre of preferred music. As someone who is admittedly quite narrow minded when it comes to new music, upon seeing Chappell Roan announced as one of the headliners for this year’s Reading Festival, I was cautiously optimistic without being entirely enthusiastic about the choice.
Being more comfortable with listening to the likes of Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden and other rock favourites on rotation, I’ve strived to step more out of my comfort zone when embracing new music.
I wanted to give her, and the other acts whose music I wasn’t that familiar with prior to the festival, a fair crack.
Of course I was familiar with the aforementioned hits of hers, but I made sure to delve deeper into her discography before the festival to become more attuned with her music.
I think a part of my problem of writing Chappell Roan off before giving her music a proper chance was boxing her in the same category as other huge pop acts such as Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. Undoubtedly talented musicians, but ones who make music that’s too safe for my personal taste. Music for people who aren’t really that into music.
Chappell Roan is far from that. Despite her mass appeal and enormous fanbase she might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you could never accuse her music or image as being ‘boring’ or ‘safe’ as you can with several acts within the pop industry.
There’s no doubt there is plenty of hype around Chappell Roan, but did her set live up to expectations?
In a word – yes.
The anticipation for her set was clear, you couldn’t move all day without seeing a Chappell Roan themed pink fluffy cowboy hat.
She drew the biggest crowd of the weekend and had them in the palm of her hand from minute one.
The visuals were encapsulating. The fairytale themed set coupled with some eye-catching outfits made for interesting viewing and most importantly, her vocals were exceptional.
Behind the huge chart hits is a solid discography of songs ranging from the melancholy ‘The Subway’ to the country-fied ‘The Giver’ to the undeniably catchy ‘Red Wine Supernova’ .
A cover of Heart’s ‘Barracuda’ brought about a welcomed change of pace. It was another display of Chappell’s excellent vocal range and showcased her ability to branch away from her usual pop genre as she effortlessly sung the classic rock hit. This was also a chance for her supporting band to shine and they did so. A Chappell Roan rock/metal album in the future could be a really intriguing project and something I’d love to see.
For me it was by far the most enjoyable performance of the whole weekend at Reading Festival, and with no disrespect to Hozier, left me wondering how she wasn’t booked as the main headline act for Friday.
The hype is fully justified. I can now safely say that I’m a fully converted Chappell Roan fan. There’s no doubt in my mind that if she ever returns to Reading Festival is that she will be in the main headliner slot. Lesson learnt. Never write off a pop princess, especially a Midwest Princess.
Rating: ★★★★★
