(Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction at Lollapalooza 2003) (Photo: J. Shearer)
Lollapalooza is one of the largest and most diverse music festivals in the entire world. The now four-day festival that takes place in Grant Park in Chicago Illinois every summer has spanned since 1991. The fest has a unique thrilling dynamic of seeing breakout stars over numerous stages, giving an average patron the ability to witness an unforgettable set from a rising pop star, and then strolling to the next stage to see a rock band perform to numerous mosh pits and crowd surfers. What once started as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction slowly evolved into the four-day extravaganza that it is now. While Lollapalooza began mainly booking like-minded alternative bands to Jane’s Addiction in the 90s, it shifted with the times and trends that the industry would take every few years expanding it’s genre reach and crowd potential from pop, hip hop, punk, metal, goth, spoken word, EDM, hyperpop, industrial, and near countless other genres. The list of names that have headlined this illustrious festival alone nearly checks off every household name in every major genre in the music industry. The lengthy list includes but is certainly not limited to the likes of Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Eminem, Muse, Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Avicii, Nine Inch Nails, Arctic Monkeys, The Weeknd, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and so many more.
(Chappell Roan crowd at Lollapalooza 2024) (Photo: Josh Druding)
While the ends of Grant Park span over two miles creating quite the walk between the two main stages, the festival jam packs the park with 125,000 people, all there to experience their love and passion of live music. Each year, there are a number of standout moments that are spread throughout our newsfeeds. Last year alone, Chappell Roan broke the record of having 110,000 of the fests attendees at her set, which is roughly 90% of all patrons. The year before that, Jared Leto of Thirty Seconds To Mars made a grandiose entrance bungee jumping well over 100 feet from the top of the stage scaffolding. In 1993, Rage Against The Machine posed completely nude onstage in protest to Tipper Gore spearheading the industry with parental advisory stickers on albums with questionable lyrics. Whether you attend the fest that year or not, you are bound to hear something huge spawning from the festival year in and year out, many of these moments standing the test of time to which we still reference them today.
(Red Hot Chili Peppers at Lollapalooza 1992) (Photo: Henry Diltz)
Behind it’s showcasing of so many amazing musicians, the aesthetics and ethos that the fest has always shown through. Some of these can easily be witnessed from their efforts in showcasing nonprofit organizations, displaying works of art and culture, many from POC and marginalized communities, and speaking words of activism and taking hard stances regarding progressive issues. After spanning for over 30 years, New York Times bestselling authors Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour are releasing a book about the history of the festival as told through the mouths of the stars and crew that were there during those earlier days. The book will include original interviews from various band members from the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Sonic Youth, Ice-T, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Patti Smith, and many many more. Spawning from being an amphitheater tour, to a multi day fest in not just Chicago, but in other countries like Brazil, Chile, Argentina, India, and Germany. While the fest has standout moments every single year, and many more to come in the future, this book is sure to showcase the big moments so far, many of which are being told for the very first time. The book is to be published by St. Martins Press and is slated for a release day of March 25, 2025.
(Lollapalooza 2023 crowd) (Photo: Taylor Regulski)
Pre-orders are available now
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