Chappell Roan transformed the Reading Festival main stage into a dark fairytale last night (August 22) as she headlined the opening night to stellar reviews.
In what has been described by the festival boss Melvin Benn as the “first pure pop headliner”, all eyes were on Chappell Roan – and those eyes never left her gaze due to the enchanting and cinematic performance.
The pop sensation strutted onto stage while a haunting, atmospheric and ghastly instrumental gave the pink cowboy hat-wearing crowd a taste of the vibe for the next 90 minutes – a perfect juxtaposition.
She then burst into the anthemic ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ which set a precedent for the rest of the show – a precedent of community within the crowd as Roan and the packed festival-goers belted out chorus after chorus, arm-in-arm, with ‘Hot To Go’ being the epitome of it all.
Multiple times throughout the night, Roan spoke to the tens of thousands in attendance to exclaim just how important the night was to her: “This is a dream come true, seriously. Thank you for loving me and standing with me. I’m truly so grateful” she told the crowd before belting into ‘Kaleidoscope’.
Chappell Roan on the main stage at Reading Festival!! What a performance pic.twitter.com/tJBfpRrjar
— Nicole Mcbride (@_NicoleMcBride) August 22, 2025
Chappell Roan’s full setlist consisted of:
‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’
‘Femininomenon’
‘After Midnight’
‘Naked In Manhattan’
‘Guilty Pleasure’
‘Casual’
‘The Subway’
‘Hot To Go’
‘Barracuda’
‘Picture You’
‘Kaleidoscope’
‘The Giver’
‘Red Wine Supernova’
‘Coffee’
‘Good Luck, Babe!’
‘My Kink Is Karma’
‘Pink Pony Club’
NME gave the ‘Hot To Go’ singer a five-star review for her Reading Festival headline debut, saying: “She wraps things up with a euphoric trifecta of ‘Good Luck, Babe!’, ‘My Kink Is Karma’ and ‘Pink Pony Club’, she struts down the runway to get closer to the crowd, waving and blowing kisses to them, a big grin on her face.
She might be getting used to seeing scenes like the one in front of her now, but it’s clear they’ve yet to lose their impact.”
Reading and Leeds Festival boss, Melvin Benn, spoke to NME earlier this year about having Chappell Roan headline this year: “To have a weekend with historic headline moments like Chappell Roan, alongside emerging talent and influential voices, I am proud of R&L’s continued development and I can’t wait to see fans embracing it all.”
Benn also spoke about the significance of finally having a pop star headline the festivals, saying: “It’s something that I’ve talked to the team about a huge amount over the last 18 months to two years; the pre-eminence of pop now is there for all to see. There’s been a shift in the young audiences loving pop, and R&L has to take notice of that. Chappell Roan is that genuine pop headliner.”
Chappell Roan will now head north to take the main stage at Leeds Festival tonight (August 23) in what is sure to be just as enchanting and anthemic as last night.
