Chappell Roan at Reading review: Unbridled, gothtastic passion
"Channelling pure Maleficent energy, this is a thrillingly serious exercise in pop," writes Attitude's Jamie Tabberer
The sun struggles to cut through an endless, dust-choked landscape as tired, dehydrated crowds draw from the life-force of their gothic monarch. Defiant against the heat in sleeves, gloves and a full skirt, the figure brandishes a staff topped with a bat and wears a matching fascinator. Squint, and she resembles a giant raven.
This may sound like a scene from Mad Max, but in fact, it is the ever-eccentric Chappell Roan meeting her people at Reading Festival. It is a thrillingly serious exercise in pop.
Attitude caught the same set at Way Out West in Sweden earlier this August, where the star beamed and bounced around the stage like a woodland nymph, the innocent protagonist of a child’s fantasy story. Aspects tonight are a carbon copy — the intricately detailed fairytale fortress, for example — but ultimately it is an entirely different experience. Chappell herself is transformed, channelling pure Maleficent energy.
Not that she is reserved or stoic. This is a leg-kicking, hair-flicking spectacle – her and her all-female band never stop moving – with her booming, at times screaming, voice recalling the countless rock gods who’ve brought raw power to this otherwise nondescript London commuter town over the years. Her formidable vocal and unbridled passion peaks with a cover of Heart’s ‘Barracuda’.
“This one’s for my ex, who’s in the crowd tonight…” – Chappell Roan at Reading
What impresses most is the strength of the setlist. Chappell only broke through in 2024, has released just one album, and has suggested the next could be as much as five years away — yet she delivered 17 songs that were all killer, no filler. (Although Coffee does zap the energy between Red Wine Supernova and Good Luck, Babe!) It’s performed with the breathtaking confidence of a greatest hits set, and feels like a show worthy of a Glastonbury headliner. The irony? At Reading, she isn’t even topping the bill — that honour goes to Hozier.
“This one’s for my ex, who’s in the crowd tonight,” Chappell says, introducing ‘My Kink is Karma’, fixing the camera with a penetrating stare that sent chills even down this writer’s spine. This is my kind of reality TV show. Maybe this explains the seriousness? Whatever the explanation, people are living for it, with the Reading team boasting a knack for zeroing in the camera on the most dramatic of emotional faces in the crowd. (Conversely, an assumed technical issue sees the big screens intermittently cut out for the first few songs.)
“Thank you for loving me and standing with me,” Chappell tells fans at one point, sharing a rare smile. “This is a dream come true, seriously.” Then, it was straight back to game face.
Chappell Roan’s Reading Festival setlist
‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’
‘Femininomenon’
‘After Midnight’
‘Naked in Manhattan’
‘Guilty Pleasure’
‘Casual’
‘The Subway’
‘Hot To Go!’
‘Barracuda’ (Heart cover)
‘Picture You’
‘Love Me Anyway’
‘The Giver’
‘Red Wine Supernova’
‘Coffee’
‘Good Luck, Babe!’
‘My Kink Is Karma’
‘Pink Pony Club’