Chappell Roan's cowboy hat mania takes over Primavera Sound: 'The queen for the girls and the gays'

"We came for Chappell Roan, no doubt," Gaia and Chiara, from Italy, told Catalan News hours before the American singer-songwriter took over the Estrella Damm stage on Saturday night at Primavera Sound in Barcelona.

"The depth of her songwriting," they both said before Gaia added and "the lesbians." 

"She is the queen for the girls and the gays," Holly, traveling all the way from Manchester, UK, told this media outlet. She has been enjoying Primavera Sound since it opened its doors on Thursday with Charli XCX. However, she was very much awaiting Chappell Roan's show, as she is "obsessed with her album."

The album, 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,' was released in 2023, and since Roan told her fans to bring a pink hat at the San Francisco music festival, Outside Lands, the 'cowboy hat mania' has taken over all her shows.

Juliana, Rafaella, Luisa, and Clarissa traveled from Brazil to attend Primavera Sound. They are among the many wearing pink outfits to match Roan's request and are also among the over 293,000 attendees at the music festival, 65% of whom come from abroad.

"I came only for Chappell," Clarissa said before adding that "she has a whole movement behind her, and she is very clear about equality, diversity, and she is very well centered on that."

"Chappell Roan is a spokesperson for all of us, the LGBTQ+ community," Clarissa added.

Two of them, Luisa and Rafaella, had already been to the Primavera Sound in Sao Paolo, so they just "wanted to come to the original one."

Aitor and Carla, both from Barcelona, say that while the 'The Powerpuff Girls' (in reference to Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Chappell Roan) are similar, the latter uses "her position in ways no other artists use it, such as Sabrina. It is respectful, but she does not raise her voice as Chappell does."

"Chappell is not scared to say her opinions, to speak in favor of Gaza, against the US administration under President Donald J. Trump, she does not regret it," Carla told Catalan News.

"She is openly queer, but the other two artists have their public," Aitor added before saying that they are "more of a role model, for the public, rather than for their actions, while Chappell is a role model by herself."

Chappell delighted her fans on stage, combining pyrotechnics and hits such as 'After Midnight,' 'Hot to Go,' 'Supergraphic,' 'Kink is Karma,' and 'Pink Pony Club.'

Spanish, Irish, and American musicians

Primavera Sound organized dozens of concerts on Saturday, the latest major night of the music festival. Among the leading musicians, there were Spanish Judeline at the Estrella Damm stage, or Spanish singer Amaia at the Cupra stage, who has already performed several times at the music festival since 2018. Amaia took part in the 2018 Eurovision edition with her then-boyfriend, Alfred Garcia.

Amaia started her concert with her latest release 'Tocotó,' which was followed by 'El Encuentro,' 'Giratutto,' and ended her gig with 'Bienvenidos al show.'

Meanwhile, Judeline sang her hits 'Tánger,' 'Brujería,' and '4angelitos,' among many, to the hundreds of spectators dancing at 5:30 pm.

But while thousands had been awaiting Chappell Roan wearing pink, thousands were looking forward to the Irish band Fontaines D.C., who performed at the Revolut stage, and finished just minutes before Roan sang her first notes at the side stage.

One of the many American singers at the festival was Anohni and the Johnsons, who sang at the Amazon Music stage some of their hits 'Why Am I Alive Now,' 'Everglade,' and finished with 'Drone Bomb Me,' while in between songs, they played recorded interviews to the hundreds of fans.

Aside from Chappell Roan, thousands had traveled to see the other headliners perform at the main stages, Estrella Damm and Revolut. On Thursday, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan presented their 'Sweat Tour,' a first in Europe. Sabrina Carpenter took to the stage on Friday to delight her long-time and newest fans.

Organizers said that 224 concerts had been held in the Parc del Fòrum venue, and 311 were scheduled, including the other events across the week. 

Primavera Sound in Barcelona will return between June 4 and 6 next year.