“They told Gibson four days before the performance. I know they were working on the guitar nonstop”: Chappell Roan’s guitarist reveals the story behind the Grammys’ show-stopping – and last-minute – mirrorball Gibson Les Paul

Chappell Roan (R) performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Rumors of the death of the guitar solo are always greatly exaggerated, and the 2025 Grammys’ most talked-about performance saw guitar take center stage yet again.

In a sign of changing times, however, the axeslinger was not a grizzled classic rock veteran, but a 24-year-old Venezuelan on a giant pony. Chappell Roan’s Grammy performance of Pink Pony Club was an explosion of overstatement, camp excess, and fret-melting guitar.