If you’ve been living under a Spotify-less rock, allow us to introduce you to your favorite artist’s favorite artist. She’s Chappell Roan, and she’s playing Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP) this summer.

When talent buyer Evan Johnson reached out to book the indie pop act last fall, she was still largely underground, but what Johnson deemed a “no-skip album” put her on his radar. At the time, now-ubiquitous tracks “Casual” and “Pink Pony Club” hadn’t yet seen radio airtime. But booking Roan just made sense for Johnson, who has been behind CHBP’s lineups since 2018. 

“If you had to describe Chappell Roan, I think she would hit all the buzzwords of what we love in a Block Party artist,” Johnson says. She’s distinctly queer-forward, she’s left-of-center pop, she’s an unreal live performer. 

She was already confirmed on this summer’s Friday CHBP lineup when Johnson saw her in Seattle at the Showbox in November 2023. Her commanding performance—and the highest check-in rate Johnson had ever seen among fans—left him with high confidence in the pick. 

In booking for relatively small CHBP, Johnson banks on the potential and the ceiling for each artist. Even with high hopes for Roan, “nobody knew that it was going to get to this level,” Johnson says of her skyrocket to fame in the last six months. Roan’s ceiling is already much higher than CHBP’s 10,000 tickets per day: this spring, she played to huge crowds at Governors Ball (150,000 tickets) and Bonnaroo (80,000 tickets). 

Friends have forwarded videos of Roan’s insane crowds at these spring festivals to Johnson, wondering what her Seattle appearance will bring. But for CHBP, it’s business as usual. 

“We only sell to 10,000. We can’t fit more than that in the space…we can’t move the gas station,” Johnson states matter-of-factly. Roan may have blown up, but street space for the literal block party hasn’t changed. 

That’s not to say festival organizers aren’t prepping. “We understand the demand for her,” Johnson assures as he rolls out a laundry list of adjustments with guest experience and safety in mind. 

Some seem marginal: the beer garden fences will be rounded rather than angular to avoid bottlenecks as crowds flow around them; certain sidewalks will be open this year that have been shuttered in the past. 

But other adjustments will be more noticeable. A huge video wall on the corner near Neumos will allow attendees to see performances without pushing to the gates. Extra speakers accomplish the same. 

Organizers are working with the Seattle Police Department for security during—and after—each day’s festivities, adding additional personnel to respond to sold-out crowds. Extra wellness volunteers scattered throughout the festival’s two-by-three-block footprint will direct crowds toward drinking water, medical professionals, and safety personnel. 

After all, this isn’t the first time a CHBP artist has blown up in the liminal space between booking and appearing along Pike Street. In 2019, Lizzo headlined Saturday; 2022 brought Charli XCX and Diplo. Organizers point to previous experience with sold-out days and last-minute artist demand that has helped inform preparations for this year. 

By design, Chappell Roan’s Seattle experience won’t mirror the recent throngs of fans at Boston Calling, Governors Ball, or Bonnaroo. It simply can’t. As one of the few music festivals still located within urban confines, CHBP’s ethos of intimacy is baked into the boundaries of Capitol Hill’s sidewalks and buildings. 

“The next time she plays [Seattle], she will play Climate Pledge, or larger,” Johnson says without a shred of doubt. Seeing Roan command the jewel box of a music festival reinforces how unique the CHBP premise really is: catch arena-bound artists while they’re still playing block parties.