A smattering of guests at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar got more than they bargained on Wednesday night (Feb. 11) when Chappell Roan stopped in with her crew — and downed a couple of mocktails.
The superstar American alternative pop artist is currently headlining the Laneway festival tour, which completed its Sydney leg on Sunday, Feb. 8 with a sold-out show at Centennial Park, and moves on to Melbourne’s Flemington Park this Friday, Feb. 13.
With the blessing of some time to kill, Roan visited the legendary dive bar in central Melbourne. And she did so on a slow night.
“I reckon we had maybe 17 punters in at the time,” writes Cherry Bar owner and booker James Young, who was DJing at the time.
“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,” he continues. “She didn’t hide in the ‘VIP’ Andy Bar,” he adds, but “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.”
Young is right. Roan is the biggest artist, certainly in Australia. “‘Good Luck, Babe!” came in at No. 1 on triple j’s Hottest 100 in 2025, with the most number of votes in the history of countdown.
Roan was at the right place, though perhaps the wrong night. Cherry Bar is an institution, a music joint with sticky carpets, a soundtrack pumping with rock, blues and alternative, and a beer-soaked history. The venue opened its doors in 1999 at the bottom of AC/DC Lane, boasting Cosmic Psychos drummer Bill Walsh among its owners.
Over the years, a who’s who of rock music has partied the night away at Cherry, including Noel Gallagher, members of Arctic Monkeys, Metallica, TV on the Radio and many others. In March 2019, the venue hosted its final night at AC/DC Lane, before moving to its current home at 68 Little Collins Street.
In his social post, Cherry’s Young gave a shout out to Roan’s crew, who were “especially supportive,” and to Laneway Festival for “stimulating” the “struggling Melbourne hospitality scene. The world needs people on the streets.”
Laneway has a reputation for booking acts before they go supernova. They did it with Billie Eilish, Fred Again, Tame Impala, and landed a coup last year with Charli XCX.
After Melbourne, Laneway will visit Adelaide Showgrounds (Feb. 14) and Perth’s Arena Joondalup (Feb. 15). Co-founder by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio, Laneway this year celebrates its 21st birthday year with a lineup led by Roan and featuring Alex G, PinkPantheress, Wolf Alice, Role Model, Wet Leg and others.
