Featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop and electronic music, Lollapalooza a very diversified music festival held every summer in Chicago, at Grant Park. Apart from being a multi-genre delight, Lollapalooza also features dance and comedy performances, alongside with craft booths. The festival also serves as a platform for political and non-profit artists and groups.
Ever since its creation in 1991 by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for his band, this internationally-known festival is often the cornerstone many artists' careers.
Lollapalooza is broadcast live and globally on Red Bull TV.
In 2010, it was announced that Lollapalooza would make its debut outside American soil, that is how a branch of the festival was staged in Chile's capital Santiago. 2011 saw the birth of a Brazilian version of the event, and then an Argentinian version made its appearance in 2013. In 2014, the first European Lollapalooza took place in Berlin.
The festival takes place in the course of thee days, hosting more than 160,000 people, and featuring a diverse range of bands and artists, the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Jane's Addiction, Lana del Rey, Wiz Khalifa, The Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Eminem, MGMT, Coldplay, Stone Temple Pilots, Depeche Mode, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Pearl Jam, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Atlas Genius, Dev, Rollins Band, Kid Cudi, Imagine Dragons, Babes in Toyland, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Foster the People, The Cure, Of Monsters and Men, Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Killer, The National, Living Colour, Rage Against the Machine, We the Kings, Paramore, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand, X Japan, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cage the Elephant, Alice in Chains, Lorde, Tool, The Black Keys, deadmau5, Hole, Body Count, Ice-T, Queens of the Stone Age, Cupcake, The Drums, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, Thenewno2, Fishbone, Lady Gaga, Lucius, Betty Who, Butthole Surfers, Grouplove, Marina And the Diamonds, Haley Reinhart, Scramble Campbell, Zara Larsson, and Radiohead.
2018 features impressive headliners, including Arctic Monkeys, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd and Jack White. The lineup boasts a long list of famous artists, the likes of Travis Scott, Khalid, Chvrches, Galantis, Franz Ferdinand, DJ Taye, Larkin Poe, London on da Track, The National, Post Malone, Tyler, The Creator, Walk the Moon, James Bay, Vampire Weekend, Logic, St. Vincent, Zedd, Perry Farrell's Kind Heaven Catfish and the Bottlemen, Lil Pimp, Bones, Odesza, Lil Uzi Vert, Portugal, the Man, Excision, Gucci Mane, Chromeo, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Manchester Orchestra, The Vaccines, Chris Lake, and many more.
The festival's name originated towards the end of the 19th century as an American idiomatic phrase, which is defined by the dictionary as “an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.” The term also came to be used to refer to a massive lollipop. Upon hearing the word used in a Three Stooges short film, Farrell decided to adopt it to name the festival, as a homage to the term's double meaning, and thus a character in the festival's original logo holds one of the lollipops.
Lollapalooza as an experience goes beyond the music, although everything revolves around it, like they state on their website: “Music is our DNA. With 8 stages, and 170+ bands from all over the world, every Lolla lineup makes hands wave, heads nod, and crowds holler.”
The event also features delicious food that Chicago offers. “Chow Town offers the most delicious festival good, drinks and sweets from the Windy City's favourite restaurants. We offer our patrons much more than the typical ‘carnival' type fare, with an emphasis on fresh, reasonably priced items from the Chicago area.”
Lollapalooza also features an art market, sweet photogenic spots, and tons of merch to swag out with. The event also caters for children, with a mini-fest for the kiddos.
And the fun continues even after the festiva. The event includes aftershows, so you can see even more from your favourite artists at the fest. 2018 aftershows include over 55 performances featuring over 110 artists. “From Metro to House of Blues, these legendary rooms will host the ultimate Lolla parties from Tuesday, July 31st through Sunday, August 5th.”