{"id":1448635,"date":"2025-08-23T23:12:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T22:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=1448635"},"modified":"2025-08-26T11:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T10:32:12","slug":"chappell-roan-reading-festival-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/music\/chappell-roan-reading-festival-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Femininomenal! Chappell Roan delivers unforgettable show at Reading Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hope she plays \u2018Hot To Go!\u2019<\/em><\/a> On 22 August, Chappell Roan<\/a> made a triumphant return to British soil \u2013 delivering her first-ever UK festival headline performance at Reading. For an artist whose persona is rooted in queerness and unapologetic self-expression, her place on the festival\u2019s famously straight-coded main stage felt profoundly symbolic.<\/p>\n

Less than a year ago when The Midwest Princess<\/em> last toured the UK, she was playing venues with capacities under 5,000. Fast forward to summer 2025, and she\u2019s commanding attention of one of the country\u2019s largest festivals, performing to a sprawling audience of around 100,000. The leap is staggering, but also a testament to her incredibly well-earned rise, which has been almost a decade in the making.<\/p>\n

Clocking in at approximately 90 minutes, Roan\u2019s set spanned 17 songs and wove together dark-fantasy visuals with her signature theatricality and bold pop bravado. She took fans on a journey from Saskatchewan<\/em> to the Pink Pony Club<\/em>, mixing tracks from her iconic debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess<\/em>, with selections from her eagerly awaited sophomore effort \u2013 most notably \u2018The Subway\u2019, which was released on 31 July and debuted at number one on the UK\u2019s Official Singles Chart<\/a>. Hearing tens of thousands scream its outro made it clear that the song is already an anthem.<\/p>\n

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Chloe Newman \/ Reading Festival<\/p><\/div>\n

The setlist comprised a compelling selection of favourites, including \u2018Femininomenon\u2019, \u2018Casual\u2019 and \u2018The Giver\u2019, showcasing the breadth of her creative world \u2013 from glitter-soaked pop numbers to vulnerable ballads tinted in heartbreak \u2013 each delivered with the intensity of someone staking her rightful claim to a stage of this magnitude.<\/p>\n

From the moment Chappell emerged from her gothic castle in a brand-new costume that served vampire realness (giving Dragon from Shrek in the best possible way<\/a>), the festival erupted. Her voice was almost swallowed by the roar of thousands of fans in the type of communal experience that defines the best live music, where artist and audience become one unstoppable energy.<\/p>\n

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Luke Dyson \/ Reading Festival<\/p><\/div>\n

Yet amid all of this, her vocals were flawless. Chappell’s signature lilting delivery shone in the hypnotic yodels of \u2018Picture You\u2019, while her forceful belts during the climax of \u2018Good Luck, Babe!\u2019 rang out strong across the field. She is, without question, among the most capable vocalists in pop music today.<\/p>\n

One of the evening\u2019s most joyous moments came with \u2018Hot to Go!\u2019 The track has become inseparable from its viral dance routine, which Roan took a moment to teach the ready-and-waiting crowd. Watching tens of thousands of hands rise in unison, flames bursting behind the stage, the field became a carnival of camp joy in a moment that’s destined to live on in the minds of everyone who observed it.<\/p>\n

Never one to shy away from the drama, Chappell even took a moment in the show to dedicate \u2018My Kink is Karma\u2019 to her ex, who just happened to be in the crowd<\/a> \u2013 drawing gasps and cheers from the audience.<\/p>\n

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@gaytimes<\/a> Chappell Roan dedicates ‘My K*nk is Karma’ to her ex who is in the crowd during her headline set at Reading Festival \ud83d\udc40 #chappellroan<\/a> #readingfestival<\/a> #chappell<\/a> #chappellroantour<\/a> #subway<\/a> \u266c original sound – GAY TIMES<\/a><\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n