Lollapalooza’s first days were pageants of both new talents and star sensations.
Lollapalooza’s first days were pageants of both new talents and star sensations.
Summer has swung back around, and with it the annual closing of Grant Park and North Columbus Drive to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of fans who flock to the four-day extravaganza known as Lollapalooza music festival.
On days one and two, smaller artists found their footings during their festival debuts, and packed crowds cheered for acts like ROLE MODEL, Gracie Abrams, Wallows and Djo.
Thursday evening, rapper Tyler, The Creator returned to his headlining slot with roaring success, while Luke Combs crooned country lovin’ to the big city folk. Closing out Friday, “Livpalooza” — nicknamed for pop star Olivia Rodrigo — welcomed special guest Weezer on stage, and nu metal legend Korn celebrated their 21st-century Lollapalooza return with mosh pits and head-banging.
Thursday, July 31
Opening the Lakeshore stage — muddied from the day’s earlier rain — Chicago-based band The Symposium performed their Lollapalooza debut while simultaneously ending the first leg of their inaugural headlining tour.
The indie rock band’s setlist spanned almost their entire discography, featuring songs like “April Snow,” “Streems” and “Poison.”
During the set, lead singer Charlie Gammill also briefly talked about the band’s “mysterious” instrumental album, “Songs From the Void,” which was released July 18. In relation to the new album, Gammill crowned Sam Clancy, the band’s guitarist and keyboardist, as the “Synth Lord.”
Singer-songwriter Jade LeMac wowed Tito’s stage Thursday afternoon with crisp tonality. The 21-year-old Vancouver native — ironically clad in a Canadian tuxedo — appeared cool and collected while flipping through her expansive vocal range in emotional pop songs like “Constellations,” the track that went viral on TikTok.
Adding to her set list a few unreleased tracks, including “running home,” which will arrive Aug. 15, LeMac raised anticipation for music she “found her voice” creating. Impassioned head nods of the continually growing audience suggested the new songs will be welcomed with open arms.
Thursday found the festival’s Perry’s stage transformed into “Dollapalooza” for the day in honor of the stage’s closing act, Dom Dolla. Chicago-based DJ and producer Azzecca, who said she’s been attending Lollapalooza as a fan for 20 years, was one of the first artists to kick off the techno extravaganza.
For an hour, Azzecca kept a consistent tone, using stuttered, spoken audio clips to lead into snappy drum hits, a bass-heavy pulse and, at points, warbling trills.
Dressed in a one-piece windbreaker ornamented with rainbow smiley faces, Azzecca played to a rather mild afternoon crowd, as most audience members only slightly bounced and swayed to the techno tunes.
On the other side of Grant Park, pop folk artist Yana serenaded the crowd at the BMI stage with her friend Paige Shannon, who’s co-written many of Yana’s songs.
Though the majority of her setlist dug into themes of love and broken relationships with songs like “Call Me Back” and “Like You Do,” she said “The Wall” is the only real love song she’s ever written.
To introduce her song “Haunt Me,” Yana mentioned being so “down bad” for a boy that she “stalked” his Venmo and Zillow accounts. For one guy in particular, she said, she tuned into his college radio show — one of three listeners.
The singer-songwriter said her BMI set marked not only her first time at Lollapalooza, but also her first times playing a festival and visiting Chicago.
Following Yana under the shade of the BMI stage, 20-year-old Bo Staloch couldn’t stop smiling during his Thursday afternoon set. With a band of his “favorite people in the world” to back him up, the singer-songwriter wailed on folk-rock jams like “Fault Line.”
From soulful ballads like “The Garden” to rocking numbers like a cover of Harry Styles’ “Kiwi,” the Nashville-based artist’s reedy vibrato serenaded audience members, many of whom broke into swing dancing pairs.
“I hope to be back one million times,” Staloch said with a grin before concluding his set with uptempo “Santa Fe.”
At Tito’s stage, pop artist ROLE MODEL drew a massive crowd, spilling into the grassy area of the nearby Bud Light stage.
As the stage had no screens to project the onstage visuals, many festival-goers resorted to sitting atop friends’ shoulders to catch glimpses of the singer-songwriter. Some audience members in the outer rings of the crowd even complained they couldn’t hear the artist over the speakers.
The setlist primarily concerned itself with tracks from the artist’s most recent album “Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye),” including songs like “Look At That Woman,” “Some Protector” and “Deeply Still In Love.”
When performing “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out,” ROLE MODEL is known to bring both fans and celebrities on stage to be his “Sally,” including stars like Natalie Portman and Reneé Rap. Lollapalooza’s lucky Sally was The Dare, who was scheduled to perform his own set Friday. However, with many fans unable to see the stage, his appearance seemed to go largely unrecognized.
Many crowd members left Tito’s stage after “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out,” and ROLE MODEL acknowledged he knew the reason why — Gracie Abrams was scheduled to perform 15 minutes after his set, on the other end of Grant Park.
“And I just want you to know that we are rushing so that you can make it to motherfucking Gracie Abrams,” ROLE MODEL said. “I think about these things — I’m not a fucking idiot.”
Previously, ROLE MODEL performed as an opener for the U.S. leg of Abram’s “The Secret of Us Tour.”
The city-wide poor air quality fashioned a faded pastel evening sky — an apt backdrop for Magdalena Bay’s colorful retro-futuristic pop.
The duo act, consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, brought whimsy to Lakeshore stage with the former’s sultry vocals bubbling over dance-inciting keyboard phrases in songs like “Death & Romance.”
Donning feathered wings for “Angel on a Satellite” — one of many ‘80s-inspired outfits worn by the singer — Tenenbaum glided around the stage, inspiring the crowd to whirl along.
With paper mache masks, white face paint and surrealist video accompaniment, the twosome’s eccentric visuals enhanced their musical storytelling.
Alternative rock band Cage the Elephant brought rambunctious energy to the Bud Light stage, as lead singer Matt Schultz sprinted along barricade lines, crowd-surfed and climbed atop the sound booth tent — all while singing the band’s greatest hits, including “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and “Cigarette Daydreams.”
Schultz said he considered the band’s start as being their 2007 Lollapalooza appearance, when they performed on the BMI stage after Lady Gaga.
“Brad threw up on stage,” Schultz said, referring to his older brother and the band’s guitarist, Brad Schultz. “I guess we’ve come a long ways.”
Near the end of the set, the band covered Black Sabbath’s “Changes” as a tribute both to the heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, who died July 22, and to Schultz’s son Huxley Lennon, who was born June 14.
“This is to all the beautiful babies in the world, who will grow up to do beautiful things,” Schultz said.
As the band ran over time with their final track “Come a Little Closer,” Alex Warren began his set on the neighboring Tito’s stage, clashing pop music with the rock band’s closing chords.
At the start of his performance, Warren advised the crowd to make use of the nearby bars, as he said inebriated audience members may find he sounds slightly like Luke Combs — perhaps a sly wink at the fact he later joined Combs’ own set as a surprise guest to once again perform his song “Ordinary.”
Returning to Lollapalooza after a 2022 set, Gracie Abrams returned to a crowd she said looked and felt very different.
Gathered at T-Mobile stage, the spirited crowd was littered with hair bows, lace tops and pent-up emotions prepped for melodic release.
The folk-pop artist’s breathy vocals soared across the breeze with ballads like “I miss you, I’m sorry.” Her tender lyricism elicited not just tears but guttural shouts from the crowd during bridges of hit songs like “That’s So True.”
Just as she did in 2022, Abrams performed a cover of her “all-time favorite song,” “Dancing on My Own” — only this time, she brought out Robyn, the song’s original artist, to sing it with her. The duo mashed the pop classic with a reprise of Abrams’ “Close to you,” bringing her set full circle.
To close out the evening on the Bud Light stage — albeit eight minutes late — Luke Combs treated the big city festival to some good ol’ country lovin’, making history as Lollapalooza’s first country headliner.
Celebrating his five-year wedding anniversary Aug. 2, Combs performed songs he dubbed “The Trilogy” — “Better Together,” “Forever After All” and “Beautiful Crazy” — in honor of his wife, Nicole, who was watching from the wings.
The country artist’s setlist also included hits from his discography like “1, 2 Many,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
The evening concluded with fans rushing back to the Bud Light stage for Combs’ encore — a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” — before finally tipping their cowboy hats goodnight to Lollapalooza’s first day.
With an explosive headlining set at T-Mobile stage, Tyler, The Creator proved it doesn’t take much to make him look impressive — just rhythmic lighting, occasional pyrotechnics and a tall platform to groove on.
From the morose “She” off his first album, “Goblin,” to dance track “Sugar On My Tongue,” released just 10 days prior on No. 1 album “DON’T TAP THE GLASS,” the rapper’s hit-making talent was evident as lyrics from songs across his discography were echoed en masse.
Eyes were glued to the artist’s smooth footwork and animated expressions that accented each diss and double-entendre uttered.
“Y’all are one of the only cities that makes me feel safe enough to really pop out,” Tyler said, thanking Chicago for years of support.
Directing all the women in the crowd to sing the repeated “la la las” of his lovesick hit “See You Again,” the genre-defying musician ended the night on a tender note that rang out across waves of festival-goers.
Friday, Aug. 1
EDM artist Hex Cougar lit up Perry’s stage with captivating visuals and thundering bass Friday afternoon. The ground shook with the sounds of remixed house hits like Zedd’s “Clarity,” as the audience left themselves room to twirl handkerchiefs, jump around and thrash their heads.
In front of screens showing drone shots of Californian landscapes and behind spurting flames, the producer was immersed in his element. Brooding spoken interludes told the tale of a knight finding himself drawn to nature’s darkness as Hex drove his punchy sound to crowd-pleasing heights.
With only one song released to the public, Cassandra Coleman was an unexpected hit at the BMI stage.
“You’re not gonna know any of these songs, but by the end, I hope you know me,” Coleman said.
Hailing from Nashville, Tenn., the performer made a strong first impression with lively folk-pop tunes. Her music proved festival-worthy with repeated lyric motifs in “Maggie” requiring crowd participation.
Coleman’s debut single “Coming of Age” — a track co-produced by Jack Antonoff and featuring instrumental backing from Bleachers — was a fitting end to her set, reflecting on the new era of life she’s entered as a budding performer.
Just down the park at the Bud Light stage, Japanese punk rock band Otoboke Beaver shredded guitar, banged on drums and released guttural screams — all while dressed in bright, floral dresses.
The band performed tracks like “I am not maternal,” “6 day working week is a pain” and “Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction.” Before launching into “I won’t dish out salads,” lead singer Accorinrin said the band had eaten Chicago deep dish pizza and salad the day before, and she dubbed it to be an “amazing memory.”
Accorinrin also spoke out against the war in Gaza, briefly alluding to punk’s history of being loudly political and anti-establishmentarianist.
“Stop genocide,” Accorinrin said to a cheering crowd. “Stop starvation in Gaza.”
Otoboke Beaver included “I don’t want to die alone” and “First-class side-guy” in their closing tracks, leaving behind them the echoing cacophony of punk rock delirium.
On the Grove stage, Irish indie artist Orla Gartland opened her set with a recording of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” likely referencing her recently released album “Everybody Needs a Hero,” which she’s currently touring.
Included in Gartland’s setlist were “Why Am I Like This?,” which was popularized by Netflix’s television adaptation of Alice Oseman’s romance series “Heartstopper,” and “Now What,” which Gartland described as a track that wouldn’t be out of place on the “Shrek 2” soundtrack.
Following Gartland and arriving fashionably late to the Grove stage in his trademark suit and tie, The Dare’s groovy electro-pop tunes reverberated across a packed crowd.
The tongue-in-cheek lyricism and modern disco beats of the artist’s 2024 album “What’s Wrong with New York?” shone as he thrashed around under cool-toned strobe lights. He chatted casually with the crowd, discussing the heat of his getup and his experience in Chicago.
“Would you believe I had a shot of Malört last night?” he said. “It was incredible.”
A brief remix of Charli xcx’s “Guess” — a track he produced and received a shoutout in during the height of 2024’s brat summer — sent fans leaping in the air with frenetic energy.
The Dare’s unabashed confidence didn’t waver as he held the mic out for the crowd to scream along to his lyrics.
“That’s what’s up” audience members roared in time as he closed with “Girls,” his hit 2022 single.
Kicking off their first North American festival, alternative psychedelic rock band Ocean Alley teased the Grove stage audience with three released songs from their upcoming album “Love Balloon,” dropping Sept. 19.
Alongside the teasers — “Tangerine,” “Love Balloon” and “Left Of The Dealer” — Ocean Alley performed older tracks, like “Knees” and “Lemonworld.”
With a massive replica of Cloud Gate — more commonly known as The Bean — behind him, DePaul University alumnus Djo made his appreciation for Chicago known throughout his set at T-Mobile stage.
The indie-rock artist — also known as actor Joe Keery — strummed and wailed out tracks from his April release “The Crux.”
Replacing his voice note in “Charlie’s Garden,” actor Charlie Heaton — who plays Jonathan Byers in “Stranger Things” — appeared via video message to wish his costar good luck at Lollapalooza.
After a reflective rendition of “Roddy”, Keery took a break from tenor vocalization to chill on stage, drinking from a can and carrying around a camera while the individual talents of his band were put on display. A video montage of the ensemble’s adventures touring their music elicited “awws” across the field of spectators.
Nearing the end of his time slot, suspense seemed to brew as fans waited to scream along to the viral “End of Beginning.”
“I wouldn’t have made this song without you,” Keery said, as mounting anticipation exploded into gasps, cheers and a frenzy of phones whipped into the sky.
As thousands sang “and when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it,” the sun tucked behind the skyline, putting the city’s form into the spotlight.
A youth chorus joined Djo on stage for his final song, “Back On You” — an ode to his sisters and a fitting end to a nostalgia-steeped set.
Once 13-year-old boys who attended Lollapalooza and dreamt of someday playing the festival, indie heartthrobs Wallows returned to the venue for their third time, according to lead singer Dylan Minnette. Perhaps taking a page out of Djo’s Chicago-loving playbook, Minnette took to the Lakeshore stage dressed in a Chicago Cubs tee.
The alternative rock band treated the audience to both older hits, like “Scrawny” and “Pleaser,” as well as tracks off the band’s March 28 EP, “More.”
While performing the band’s 2020 song “OK,” Minnette ran along the barricade lines, holding the microphone out to the audience. Squeals and shouts accompanied the track’s instrumentals, replacing the typical chorus grieving broken communication in a relationship.
Despite attracting a significantly smaller crowd than the night’s other headliner, pop star Olivia Rodrigo, Korn refused to be quiet, pumping blaring bass that left ears ringing and the ground trembling at the Bud Light stage.
Mosh pits opened near the stage, and many fans head-banged along to tracks like “Blind,” “Twisted Transistor” and a cover of Metallica’s “Shoots and Ladders / One.”
The last time the nu metal band played at Lollapalooza was 1997. Now 28 years later, frontman Jonathan Davis credited the band’s 2025 return to the fan’s support. The crowd spanned generations and aesthetics — from goth teenagers with painted faces to suburban dads with small children in noise-canceling headphones.
To preface the band’s 2003 song “Y’all Want a Single,” Davis requested all audience members to raise their middle fingers to the sky and scream the chorus — “Fuck that.” Small but mighty, the crowd complied.
“I want it so loud it peels my massive motherfucking forehead back,” Davis said.
A four-song encore closed the festival’s second evening, ending with the band’s most-streamed song, “Freak On a Leash,” and cheers from the crowd.
Olivia Rodrigo drew a massive crowd to T-Mobile stage with an athletic headlining performance that showcased the versatility of her albums “SOUR” and “GUTS.”
The 22-year-old sensation burst onto stage with pop-punk “obsessed,” hyping up the crowd with each stomp of her leather platform boots.
“I want you guys to dance and scream and sing,” Rodrigo said, laying down the ground rules of her set.
The singer-songwriter gave her audience ample opportunities to jump, yell and harmonize as she bounced from the screaming belts of pop-rock songs like “ballad of a homeschooled girl” and “love is embarrassing” to the smooth hums of breakup ballads like “driver’s license” and “traitor.”
Having previously surprised her audiences with rock idols like Billy Joel and Sheryl Crow, it was no shock to find another rock ‘n’ roll icon in her setlist. Soon after, she welcomed Weezer — the first band she said she saw in concert — onto the stage to sing their hits “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So.”
Extending past 10 p.m., the singer closed her set with some of her most boisterous jams, including “good 4 u” and “get him back!” Saying goodnight as fireworks streamed from behind the stage, Rodrigo ended the night with a literal bang.
Get the Loyola Phoenix newsletter straight to your inbox!
