photo credit: Kyle Berger
Fresh off a massive 2025 and the release of her critically acclaimed debut album Who’s the Clown?, rising pop star Audrey Hobert is headed to Chicago for a headlining stop on her Staircase to Stardom Tour. She’ll take the stage at Lincoln Hall on December 9, an intimate room that rapidly sold out as Hobert’s fanbase grows from coast to coast.
The Chicago show arrives just as Hobert unveils her newest self-directed music video, “Sex and the city,” a cinematic and emotionally charged visual that showcases her deepening artistic voice behind the camera. The video, which also features actor Will Price, extends her run of self-directed hits, following earlier visuals for “Sue me,” “Bowling alley,” and “Thirst Trap.” Hobert’s flair for directing has quickly become one of her defining traits, and “Sex and the city” might be her most ambitious storytelling effort yet: moody, intimate, and filled with the kind of character-driven tension that mirrors the song’s emotional core.
It’s another major moment in a year full of them. In August, Hobert released Who’s the Clown? through RCA Records, a debut that instantly caught industry attention. Rolling Stone awarded the record four stars and praised Hobert as “one of pop’s great new voices,” while outlets like NPR, W Magazine, and Cosmopolitan echoed the acclaim. She’s since made her late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, further cementing her ascent.
Hobert’s rise may seem sudden, but it’s rooted in years of musical theatre training, dance, and a creative partnership with longtime friend Gracie Abrams. Before launching her own project, Hobert co-wrote several Abrams fan-favorites, “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” “Risk,” and the global hit “That’s So True”, and even directed their accompanying music videos. What started as a behind-the-scenes role transformed when Hobert realized the songs she was writing were meant for her own voice. With producer Ricky Gourmet, she built Who’s the Clown? from the ground up, a first-person artistic statement shaped entirely by Hobert herself, from songwriting to directing and editing.
Her first-ever headlining tour, Staircase to Stardom, kicked off this week at The Independent in San Francisco and will take her across the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Australia through May 2026. The Lincoln Hall date follows her appearance at Chicago’s Jingle Ball and marks her only standalone Chicago performance of the tour. Several stops have already been upgraded to larger venues due to overwhelming demand.
What to Expect at Lincoln Hall
The December 9 show promises a high-energy, deeply emotional night powered by Hobert’s theatricality and diaristic songwriting. With a debut album full of pop hooks, biting humor, and self-reflective storytelling, plus a brand-new video that fans are already buzzing about, this show offers a rare chance to catch a major new artist on the cusp of breakout stardom, in one of Chicago’s most beloved intimate rooms.
Fans can expect a setlist pulling from Who’s the Clown? alongside her earlier viral singles, with Hobert’s background in dance and theatre shaping a performance that’s as expressive as it is musically sharp. Given her history of crafting vivid visual worlds, the tour’s staging has also been a focal point, building on the eclectic, personality-driven aesthetic she brings to her videos.
With only one Chicago date on the calendar (not including her appearance at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball stop in Rosemont) and her profile rising rapidly, this Lincoln Hall show is poised to become one of December’s most talked-about performances.
More information: https://lh-st.com/shows/12-09-2025-audrey-hobert/
Tour details: https://www.audreyhobert.net
