Chappell Roan Hits Up Melbourne's Cherry Bar Ahead Of Final Laneway Headline Dates

Chappell Roan

In between shows headlining this year’s Laneway Festival, Chappell Roan has been visiting local pubs.

The Grammy-winning star is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in pop music today, with hits such as Good Luck, Babe!, Pink Pony Club, The Giver, and The Subway dominating airwaves across the globe—including in Australia and New Zealand.

So, for an artist of her stature to not only visit a local pub but also avoid the VIP section demonstrates humility when many mainstream artists feel completely out of reach.

On Wednesday night (11 February), Roan visited the Melbourne institution, Cherry Bar. Owner and live music enthusiast James Young revealed that she and her crew enjoyed drinks and were “especially supportive” of the venue in a touching Facebook post.

Describing her as “very modest, polite and lovely” and sharing that she drank a couple of mocktails, Young expressed gratitude to Laneway Festival for “stimulating” the struggling hospitality sector in Melbourne, in which COVID-19 and cost-of-living impacts continue to impact patrons’ habits of going out, spending, and drinking at pubs.

“Chappell Roan spent over two hours at Cherry tonight,” Young wrote, adding that, at the time, the pub was quiet, with approximately 17 patrons inside.

Young continued, “Didn’t take any pictures of her, cos that would be uncool, but can report that she drank a couple of mocktails and was very modest, polite and lovely.

“She didn’t hide in the ‘VIP’ Andy Bar, she stood the whole time at our main bar downstairs.

“This means everything. We think she’s the biggest artist on the planet. She thinks... she’s just a normal human. Gold. Her crew were especially supportive of Cherry Bar, so that was nice too.”

Young also shared some love for Laneway Festival. “I am so grateful to Laneway Festival for ‘stimulating’ the struggling Melbourne hospitality scene. The world needs people on the streets,” he wrote.

Young signed off by writing that he was DJing at Cherry Bar last night, so it was “very satisfying” to have Chappell Roan embrace “the local sounds of underground Australia.”

Laneway Festival continues Melbourne’s Flemington Park tomorrow (13 February), followed by its final 2026 events at the Adelaide Showgrounds (Saturday, 14 February) and Perth’s Arena Joondalup (Sunday, 15 February).

Just a handful of tickets remain for the Melbourne event, and limited tickets are available for the Adelaide and Perth legs. You can secure your tickets here.

While in Australia, Roan announced her departure from the talent agency Wasserman Music after the company’s namesake was linked to emails in the recently released Epstein files.

Last week, the latest batch of files related to disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was released by the US Department of Justice. They included correspondence from Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker and accomplice of Epstein.

While Wasserman has not been accused of any inappropriate or illegal behaviour, the correspondence – which dates back to 2003 – between him and Maxwell was met with shock from the entertainment industry, with artists including Roan, Dropkick Murphys, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, and others distancing themselves from the agency.

Following the correspondence being made public, Wasserman issued a statement to the New York Times. “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell, which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said.

Additionally, he wrote that he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” pointing out that he had, however, gone on a “humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane.”

“I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them,” he concluded.

Roan departed the agency after Wasserman’s correspondence with Maxwell came to light.

“As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman,” Roan wrote in an Instagram Story. “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.

“I have deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists, and I refuse to passively stand by,” she continued. “Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity. This decision reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”