Performers and Fans ‘HOT TO GO!’ for Lolla: Lollapalooza Days One and Two

Lollapalooza returned to Grant Park Aug. 1, kicking off a four-day showcase of music’s biggest names and rising stars. From Thursday’s headlining Hozier and showstopping Megan Thee Stallion to Friday’s lively Stray Kids and serene SZA, Lolla’s first half held no half-measures.

Thursday, Aug. 1

Nashville-based songwriter Abby Holliday opened the festival on the Tito’s Homemade Vodka stage. With an alternative folk sound akin to Phoebe Bridgers, Holliday gave a vulnerable, hypnotic performance.

Singer Matt Hansen kicked off the Bud Light stage with crisp vocals and crunchy guitar riffs. His deep, gravelly voice echoed across Grant Park like a pastor giving a sermon.

Tracks blended together with themes of lost love in “Virgins Are Forever” and “Better Off Without Me.” Hansen’s cover of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, which he credited with making him famous, drew the crowd even closer together.

Recent college graduate and country-pop singer Chance Emerson heartily rocked BMI’s stage. Passionately singing about young love and wonder, Emerson radiated an upbeat energy that was matched by the dancing crowds.

Hip-hop rap artist Riovaz invited cautious festival-goers to form a pit in front of the Bacardí stage barrier. Attendees shook and sprayed boxed waters as Riovaz hyped up the crowd with songs like “Prom Night” and “I Feel Fantastic.”

Alabama-native and self-proclaimed “king of the south” Brenn! took to the BMI stage Thursday afternoon with a mix of folk and pop. Against the backdrop of clear blue skies over Lake Michigan, his authentic songs about life, love and religion were a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the festival.

Brenn! played all six songs from his 2024 EP “County Line” as well as two unreleased songs. He grew more comfortable on stage as the set progressed, dancing his way through “Looking For.”

“This is my 11th show ever or something like that,” Brenn! said early in the performance. “I’m sorry if I don’t got it all down.”

Clad in a chaps-cut, neon pink and blue wrestling singlet, Chappell Roan performed to what may have been the T-Mobile stage’s largest crowd. Strutting the catwalk on-stage, the pop artist sang viral hits including “Pink Pony Club” and “Good Luck, Babe!”

While teaching audience members the hand motions to her 2023 pop sensation “HOT TO GO!,” it seemed as though most festival-goers were already familiar with the dance. Chappell fans eagerly ran through the motions as easily as they might for the YMCA. 

Across Grant Park from Roan, performing on the Bud Light stage, Lizzy McAlpine serenaded the crowd with soft, melancholic tunes. McAlpine’s songs were instrumentally powerful. In songs like “I Guess” and “Drunk, Running,” she took many lyrical breaks for keyboard, guitar and drum solos.

Pop icon Kesha had her restless crowd wrapped around her finger during her entire set. She burst onto the stage with “TiK ToK” and continued the energy to the darkly camp “Cannibal.”

Kesha’s set featured more props than a Broadway dressing room. The singer brandished a knife for “Backstabber,” donned a nun’s habit for “Take It Off” and swirled around with her backup dancers.

The performance took an emotional turn when she began “Praying,” a heartfelt ballad about her legal battle with producer Dr. Luke over her freedom as an independent artist.

Palestinian-Algerian rapper Saint Levant charmed the Bacardí stage with his signature blend of bilingual bars and saxophone solos.

The rapper, born Marwan Abdelhamid, performed in English, Arabic and French. His backup musicians — on drums, guitar and keyboard — seamlessly transitioned from slow, suave love songs to raw tracks about his razed homeland.

“Mon corps à Paris / Mon cœur à Gaza,” he rapped in “5am in Paris,” translating to “My body in Paris / My heart in Gaza.”

Closing with the emotional, string-heavy “Deira,” Saint Levant’s voice cracked several times as the crowd waved keffiyehs and Palestinian flags. He ended the set to raucous applause and cheers.

Irish singer-songwriter Hozier charmed fans with songs spanning his entire discography, including a live debut of his unreleased EP “Nobody’s Soldier.” 

Before his performance of “Nina Cried Power” from his 2019 album “Wasteland, Baby!,” Hozier spoke on the history of civil rights protests in the United States and Northern Ireland. He urged the crowd to speak with their political representatives about supporting a ceasefire in Gaza. 

“In honest goodwill and human witness of the lived experience of other people on the other side of the world,” Hozier said. “And say we wouldn’t want to see any human being subject to the kind of violence that we’ve been witnessing on our TV screens.”

Hozier closed out his set with his most-streamed song “Take Me to Church” from his 2014 debut album “Hozier.” Enthusiastic fans sang along under the cover of their rain ponchos as the night ended with lightning and dark clouds. 

Rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion closed the night by taking T-Mobile’s stage by storm. Opening with “HISS” — her Nicki Minaj diss — Megan called out detractors while embracing a confident choreography.

Like a workhorse, Megan moved through hit after hit in dynamic fashion. “Ungrateful,” “Kitty Kat” and a solo rendition of “WAP” moved the crowd to shake in turn with the rapper’s movement.

Between songs Megan commented on her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.

“Kamala said she wants a ceasefire,” Megan said. “Kamala said she supports women’s rights. Hotties for Harris.”

As a storm crept over Grant Park, thunder strikes clapped in unison with the music. Rain fell through the duration of  “Savage,” “Body” and “Boa” while lightning flashed above. To close Lollapalooza’s first day, Megan brought the thunder with her.

Friday, Aug. 2

Pop duo sundial opened the Bud Light stage on day two of the festival. Despite technical difficulties with the song “your text,” they maintained the same sweet, upbeat mood they carried through the rest of the set. 

With songs focusing on relatable themes of the everyday, sundial members Dorothy Chan and Jisu Kim performed tracks about love, family and aging.

Wilderado, an indie folk band from Oklahoma, crooned melancholic melodies like “The Ocean And The Sea” and “Morning Light” from the Bud Light stage.

The National Parks held a stripped-down jam session in the Toyota Music Den. The indie band showcased their fiddle, banjo, harmonica and tambourine skills in folksy tunes that’d seem ideal for singing around a bonfire. 

First-timers to Lollapalooza, the band played a mix of older songs as well as tracks from their upcoming album, set for release in three weeks. The small-but-spirited crowd whooped and hollered along to “I Can Feel It” and “As We Ran.”

“It’s about to turn into a hoedown,” lead singer Brady Parks said with a laugh. 

R&B singer Victoria Monét mesmerized festival goers with the help of her band the Melanistics and backup dancers. Donning a bedazzled orange outfit, Monét sashayed around the stage like a wildcat on the prowl — much like her 2020 EP and its namesake track “JAGUAR.”

If the singer didn’t have the audience’s attention already, she certainly hit a high note when she invited attendees to pull out their joints and puff along to her song “Smoke.”

Monét closed with an empowered rendition of “On My Mama.” The track was especially poignant given her daughter Hazel had introduced her hit “Stop (Askin’ Me 4Shyt)” earlier in the set. 

Australian singer-songwriter Ruel serenaded the crowd at the IHG stage with pop tunes like “Face To Face” and “I DON’T WANNA BE LIKE YOU.” 

Fans holding heart-shaped signs reading  “KISS ME” were delighted when Ruel sang an abridged version of Sixpence None The Richer’s track “Kiss Me.”

At the nearby T-Mobile stage, Reneé Rapp performed a setlist almost exclusively composed of tracks from her first and only album, “Snow Angel.” The set contained tunes like “In the Kitchen,” a song disliked by the boy it was written for, Rapp said.

“Saying you don’t have taste would be easier and faster,” the singer-songwriter said. “But I digress.”

The tracks from outside the album were “Not My Fault” from the movie musical “Mean Girls” and “D.R.A.M. Sings Special,” which included a surprise entrance from the song’s original artist, Chance the Rapper. 

Jazz singer RAYE had her performance undercut by a medical emergency. After singing “Ice Cream Man” at Tito’s stage, the Bud Light venue across the field sounded emergency warnings with screens lighting an attention message for onlookers to clear Bud Light’s barrier for medical attention. 

RAYE continued her performance with James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” however the emergency broadcast drowned out her volume. It wasn’t until the incident had subsided that the vocalist passionately filled the air with “Prada” and “Escapism.”

Indie artist Faye Webster took up Tito’s stage next. The stage’s sound seemingly increased following RAYE’s set, with Webster’s sultry “Thinking About You” and “Kingston” cooling the crowd with her distinct voice. 

Texas-born rapper Kevin Abstract lit up his crowd as the sun set. Abstract, known for his work in the rap collective Brockhampton, delivered heart-pounding performances of the group’s early hits like “GUMMY” as well as his own solo songs like “American Boyfriend.”

Like a flannel-hoodie-wearing Moses parting the Red Sea, Abstract commanded the audience to open up space on both sides of the barricade for attendees to mosh together as a single, sweaty unit.

“How could you leave this city?” Abstract said, appreciating his adrenaline-rich audience.

Icelandic musician Laufey bewitched Bud Light’s Stage with support from the Chicago’s Philharmonic Orchestra. With a full brass and string backing, Laufey gave a classical jazz performance to the festival attendees.

Rolling through “Dreamer,” “Falling Behind” and “Goddess,” Laufey surprised the crowd by bringing back out RAYE for a guest duet of “It Could Happen.” Following up with “Bored,” the artist manifested an atmosphere reminiscent of classic Disney films, closing with “From the Start.”

Headlining Korean boy band Stray Kids put on a spectacle, complete with complex choreography, outfit changes and two encores. Lightsticks from the band’s official merch line lit up like stars against the dawning darkness.

Fireworks rained gold over the crowd and screams were uttered when band member Felix revealed his bare chest.

“힙합 스텝 큼지막이 밟지, 특출난 게 특기,” the group’s main rapper Changbin sang in “S-Class,” the lyrics translating to “I take big hip-hop steps, being special is my specialty.”

The roar of the crowd seemed to agree with Changbin on his exceptionality. 

Headliner SZA ended Friday’s lineup with ethereal vocals and eccentric design choices. Dressed in a gigantic fur coat and a gingham two-piece, the R&B singer descended from her stalactite-covered platform to deliver smooth songs about romance and self-reflection.

The setlist showed off SZA’s wide range from her 2018 collaboration with Kendrick Lamar “All the Stars” to the pop punk-inspired “F2F” from her 2022 album “SOS.” The massive crowd cheered her every move, even when she took a break from dancing to sing on the back of a supersized ant statue.

“You’ll never love me,” SZA sang during “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” — but her fans’ applause proved otherwise.