This isn't easy to answer because analogies break down (as they always do). There were no singing rock stars in the sense of the modern megastars that could attract tens of thousands during the nineteenth century. There were performers of various genres who commanded a great deal of attention and who could command audiences of hundreds and even thousands at each venue as they toured the West.

In addition, most internationally-known "stars" appeared in Europe, the Eastern States, the American West, and ultimately in Australia (and usually New Zealand was included in such a trip).

These performers ranged from lecturers, actors, and singers - although most singers performed in theatrical productions. There were some singers who took to the stage to sing songs as soloists, but these were rarer than performers who appeared in musical productions ranging from high opera to the lowest forms of burlesque and/or vaudeville-type productions. Many of the latter were minstrel shows with performers appearing in blackface.

The lecturers ranged from the serious (lecturing on Irish independence, the value of electricity in curing disease, free love, the value of water in restoring health, the insights to be gained by smoking hashish, or hundreds of other topics). Perhaps the most famous of these were the comedians, who established themselves as a genre largely thanks to Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867) who appeared as "Artemus Ward" beginning in 1860. A Maine native, he said during the Civil War that he would avoid joining the army and invading Virginia provided that Robert E. Lee refrained from invading Maine. He also declared that he had given two cousins to the War and he was prepared to give a brother-in-law! He toured the American West in 1863-1864 and was extremely popular. He also "discovered" Mark Twain and set him on his way to become "the" American comic lecturer of the following several decades.

There were a range of performers who could be called rock stars. For the past three years I have been augmenting the unfinished transcripts of the journals of Alf Doten, which span from 1849 (he was an aspiring gold miner in the '49 Rush) to 1903 (he died as a Nevada journalist). I am currently dealing with Book 48 of 79 (1875), writing notes as well as transcribing. Once he arrived in California, there is not a single one of his books (so far) that does not describing his attending a performance of a star (usually dozens of stars) of the stage - each one requiring a biographical note written by me or too rarely by someone else. These stars represent the full variety of performers. Some are extraordinary singers or actors (Doten saw every Booth brother who did not shoot a president). Others are little more the gimmick of the moment (usually involving a woman showing a lot of skin with all the talent of Paris Hilton).

Doten saw these performers (and often met them privately) in venues ranging from San Francisco to rural central Nevada. When crossing the country, performers stopped regularly, and where they stopped, they performed to fund the next step of their journey. Many - meaning hundreds - were well known and performances were well attended.

I hope that helps!