One of pop’s brightest stars might be commanding festival main stages, but last night Chappell Roan found herself at the heart of Melbourne’s rock ‘n’ roll scene.
In town for Laneway Festival, which will take over Melbourne’s Flemington Park tomorrow (February 13th), she opted for something decidedly more understated than the maximalist, technicolour pop spectacle she’s been putting on for Australian audiences – a two-hour visit at one of Melbourne’s most beloved rock ’n’ roll bars where sipped mocktails and soaked up the local DJ set.
“Chappell Roan spent over two hours at Cherry tonight,” Cherry Bar owner and booker James Young wrote in a Facebook post. “I reckon we had maybe 17 punters in at the time.”
Young noted she didn’t retreat to the venue’s upstairs ‘VIP’ Andy Bar, instead she chose to stand at the main bar downstairs for the entirety of her visit. “She drank a couple of mocktails and was very modest, polite and lovely,” he wrote, adding that he deliberately didn’t take any photos because “that would be uncool.”
For a venue that has long prided itself on championing local music and keeping things refreshingly no-frills, the moment clearly struck a chord. “This means everything,” Young said. “We think she’s the biggest artist on the planet. She thinks… she’s just a normal human. Gold.”
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Cherry Bar has been a fixture of Melbourne’s late-night music culture for years, weathering lockdowns, venue relocations, and the broader struggles facing the city’s hospitality sector. Young also took the opportunity to thank Laneway Festival for helping bring international artists – and their crews – into the city.
“I am so grateful to Laneway Festival for ‘stimulating’ the struggling Melbourne hospitality scene. The world needs people on the streets,” he wrote.
Roan’s team, Young added, were “especially supportive of Cherry Bar,” while the star herself appeared more than happy to blend into the room. He also revealed he was DJing on the night and found it “very satisfying” to see Roan embracing the “local sounds” of Australia.
Laneway Festival will continue on to Melbourne tomorrow, before making its way to Adelaide and Perth.
