Lollapalooza opened in Grant Park on Thursday with lines stretching back from the main entrance on Michigan Avenue and one name seemingly on everyone’s lips: Chappell Roan.
Under gray skies and an occasional drizzle, pink cowboy hats were everywhere, an ode to the rising music star who’s playing the main T-Mobile stage at 5 p.m.
Official headliners for Day 1 are Megan Thee Stallion and Hozier, who close out the night on the T-Mobile and Bud Light stages, respectively. Chicago’s biggest annual music festival continues on the lakefront through Sunday, with SZA, The Killers and Future x Metro Boomin still to come.
But at the start of the first day, the buzz was all Roan.
“Everyone in the cowboy hats? They’re here for Chappell,” said Kevin Alaniz of San Antonio. He bought his tickets in February just to see her, he said. “She’s going to have one of the biggest crowds today for sure.”
The Missouri-born, self-declared Midwest Princess has been recording music since 2017, but Roan’s popularity exploded when she opened for the first American leg of Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour earlier this year. After the release of her single “Good Luck, Babe!” in April, monthly listeners on Spotify went from 1 million to over 30 million.
Outspoken and flamboyant onstage, Roan has also been unapologetically political, voicing opinions on issues from trans rights to the Israel-Hamas war.
“You could see her in a hot dog outfit. Anything could happen,” said fest-goer Alex Rueda, 21, from Round Lake Beach, who admires Roan’s political activism. “It’s nice to see a celebrity we love so opening talking about things like Gaza.”
Her song “Femininomenon” has become an anthem of sorts for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and it’s been mixed on social media with video edits of Harris urging voters to support a “feminine phenomenon.”
At the very front of the line before the festival opened, Hannah Luther and Peyton Reed leaned against the security barricades. The 15-year-olds said they met while camping out for Billie Eilish’s headline set last year. This year, the Boulder and Louisville natives drove across the country with their fathers, both sporting matching “Pink Pony Security” T-shirts, to attend the festival together.
It remains to be seen whether Roan will publicly support Harris’ campaign. In June, Roan declined to perform at a White House Pride celebration, citing President Joe Biden’s approach to the Mideast conflict. During a performance at Governors Ball in New York, she said “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
Roan’s team could not immediately be reached for comment.
After Lollapalooza opened at 11 a.m., some fans ran directly to the T-Mobile stage on the south end of Grant Park to secure a spot for the day. Some doubled over to rest their hands on their knees and catch their breath.
“Yeah, baby!” a man whooped at his friends in triumph.
Adia Jefferson and Zoe Tomlinson, both 23 and from Yonkers, New York, said they bought their one-day Lollapalooza passes to see original Thursday headliner Tyler, the Creator. The rapper dropped from the lineup in June, replaced by Megan Thee Stallion — a fitting replacement in their eyes.
“I’m also excited to hear new artists, I love music, I’m a music connoisseur,” Jefferson said. “A lot of the people performing I don’t know. Maybe (they) will put me on to new artists to put on my Spotify playlists.”
