Chappell Roan Plays Lollapalooza’s ‘Biggest Daytime Set Ever’

Chappell Roan has done it again by delivering yet another headline-grabbing festival set with Thursday’s performance at Chicago’s Lollapalooza attracting so many fans that it’s being called the biggest daytime set promoter C3 Presents has ever hosted. As a post on X by Lollapalooza declared, “It’s Chappell’s world and we’re just living in it.” 

The mega-pop star was initially supposed to play the smaller IHG Hotels and Resorts stage but two weeks ago festival organizers swapped her spot with Kesha’s on the larger T-Mobile Stage.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports “Yet, even that strategic Jenga was not enough space for the ‘Midwest Princess’ as one of the biggest crowds ever seen at the festival (nighttime headliners included) amassed on the south end of the park to take in the spectacle. Thursday afternoon, fans could be seen stretching from the fencing on the east side all the way west to Columbus Drive and as far north as the IHG Hotels & Resorts Stage where eager Kesha fans comingled, happily singing along to Roan’s hits.” 

A representative from C3 Presents told Pollstar, “It was the biggest daytime set we’ve ever seen (5pm). Magical! … We’ve never seen anything like it. It was a magical moment added to Lolla’s DNA.”

With Chicago’s rich wrestling history, it was only appropriate that Roan leaned into the sport when coming up with her incredible lewk of the day including a turquoise and hot pink wrestling-inspired singlet, complete with fringe, along with a star-studded champion-esque belt and a Lucha Libre mask. In addition to her backing band matching the theme, Roan was joined on stage by a group of local weightlifters.

Block Club Chicago reports that “[Lawrence] Scott, [Katie] Nguyen and [Inez] Carrasquillo were among several bodybuilders — including some from Quads Gym, 3727 N. Broadway — and an acrobatic couple who were also chosen to perform on stage around Roan. The three were tasked with lifting weights on stage for the duration of four songs.”

Roan’s Lollapalooza’s set is just the latest example of the 26-year-old’s insatiable star power as her festival slots and headline slots have all turned into underplays.   

In June, Roan’s set at Bonnaroo was also moved to meet fan demand, upgraded from a tent to one of the latest stages at the Tennessee festival.

She’s also earned rave reviews for her sets at Governors Ball and Coachella earlier this year. 

Interviewed for Roan’s June 24 Pollstar cover story, Wasserman Music agents Kiely Mosiman and Jackie Nalpant point out that even before her appearances on NPR’s Tiny Desk and Coachella, the shows on her “Midwest Princess Tour” sold out immediately. They upgraded almost every venue on the run. For example, the 1,500-capacity The National in Richmond, Virginia, was upped to the 6,530-cap Brown’s Island (May 23) and the 1,100-cap Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York, moved to the 6,000-cap Terminal B at Outer Harbor (May 24).

The duo points out that drop counts for the number of fans in the door for the “Midwest Princess Tour” are at 96-98%, which is unheard of, compared to the industry standard of 85%.