Austin City Limits Festival reigns with the Midwest Princess

“I’m up, and jaws are on the floor” sings acclaimed artist Chappell Roan in her hit song Pink Pony Club. These words have absolutely risen to fruition as Roan experienced an unbelievable rise to fame over the last couple of months. As she toured her 2023 album, The Rise of a Midwest Princess, her unique style and poetic artistry became overwhelmingly adored, launching her career forward. Performing in acclaimed music festivals like Coachella and Lalapalooza, Roan accumulated record-breaking crowds, and this enthusiasm is far from fleeting.

The Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) welcomed Roan as one of their acts in their exciting 2-weekend long music festival. She grossed a massive audience both weekends, with festival attendees camping out all day to get a good view. I was part ACL’s second weekend crowd, and I can confirm, Roan is a Pink Pony Girl, ready to take on the world!

I arrived at Zilker Park (where the festival is held) around 11:00, practically running through the gates to the huge American Express stage. By the time I arrived, there were already hundreds of Chappell fans seated in front of the stage ready to see their “Midwest Princess” in all her glory. I managed to get a spot around 10 ft away from the stage, and remained standing for the 8 hours leading up to Roan’s set (give or take an hour or so when I needed to kneel). All of the fans were extremely nice and welcoming; I even made a few friends as we bonded over our favorite songs and costumes from Roans previous performances.

The hours proceeding were long, hot, and cramped, but it was absolutely worth it for the show stopping performance. Once the anticipated 6:45 hit, fans erupted as Roan walked out. Her set continued to impress with intricate lighting cues, sparkling explosions, and lots and lots of pink! I screamed all of the words to my favorite songs (aka every song) and may or may not have shed a tear or two because of the overwhelming bliss of seeing Roan live. Roan’s performance at ACL was the last of her shows for 2024; and before she parted, Roan left her loyal crowd with this message, “It’s been a really emotional year…This is my final show. Thank you for having me.”

I left ACL feeling uplifted and excited. For I just witnessed my favorite artist perform her last show of an era, and I realized… I get to see everything that she does next! Roan is quickly becoming a household name, and I am incredibly eager to see how far she flies!