Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Grant Park  this weekend for Lollapalooza, the annual four-day music festival, which this year featured artists like Dua Lipa, Metallica and Green Day. Attendees embraced the event, celebrating the music in outfits ranging from an inflatable cow costume to neon morphsuits.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the festival had no masking or vaccination requirements, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot encouraged attendees to spend money in the city and enjoy the festival.

Local activists, however, said Lollapalooza highlighted the injustice of the city’s recent 10 p.m. youth curfew, which they said disproportionately impacts Black and Brown youth. Residents and visitors attending Lollapalooza were exempt from the curfew, which activists said benefits wealthy, white teens and tourists.

Thursday

Thursday’s performers included up-and-coming new artists and well-established hits. Lollapalooza’s first Zambian artist, Sampa the Great, helped kick off the weekend, promising her band wouldn’t be the last Zambian band to play at the festival. Maude Latour brought energy to the mainstage, filling the space with her enthusiasm and performing songs like “Lola” and “Superfruit.” 

Indie artist Still Woozy livened his laid-back music with his stage presence and brought out fellow performer Remi Wolf, who recently performed at Dillo Day, for the pair’s song “Pool.” In a set later on Thursday, Wolf performed hits like “Sexy Villain” and “Disco Man.”  

Throughout a raunchy set that had the crowd jumping and shouting, Tove Lo captivated the audience with songs like “Talking Body” and “How Long.” The Swedish pop artist commanded the stage, even hopping off to engage with fans and flashing the crowd halfway through the set.

100 gecs kept things weird, showing up onstage in purple and yellow wizard costumes, while Jazmine Sullivan thrilled crowds with 2008 hit “Bust Your Windows.” 

Headliner Metallica drew huge crowds of heavy metal fans. The band performed plenty of material for old fans as well as catering to a younger audience by playing “Master of the Puppets” with a tribute to Eddie Munson from “Stranger Things,” who performs the song in the show.

Headliner Caroline Polachek slowed things down with songs like “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” while rapper Lil Baby returned to the neighboring stage. 

Friday

Friday kicked off with a few UK-based artists. UK band Wet Leg made its festival debut Friday with a flirty set featuring songs like “Ur Mom.” British R&B singer Mahalia delivered a smooth set, paying homage to R&B and hip hop legacies throughout her discography. 

Tinashe, who also recently performed at Dillo Day, controlled the stage with strong vocals and detailed choreography. 

Indie band Muna kept the crowd engaged with songs off its recent self-titled album. Lead vocalist Katie Gavin, who grew up in Evanston before moving to California, reminisced about attending Lollapalooza with her sister and seeing The Killers perform “Mr. Brightside,” before leading into a cover of the song that thrilled the crowd.

After releasing their sophomore album, “Hold On Baby,” that same day, King Princess took a poll of the audience, asking “how many of you are gay?” to huge cheers, and performing hit singles like “1950,”  “Talia” and “Pussy is God.” Another queer icon, Girl in Red, drew huge crowds and boundless energy to her set, inviting the crowd to mosh to “bad idea!,” and performing fan favorites like “girls” and “we fell in love in october.” 

Headliners Dua Lipa and Machine Gun Kelly closed out the night. Machine Gun Kelly played hits off his latest album and brought out Avril Lavigne for “Bois Lie.” In a glittering outfit, Dua Lipa shined onstage, performing recent and old hits off “Future Nostalgia” and her debut self-titled album. She closed out the set with “Don’t Start Now,” culminating in a fireworks show.

Saturday

Saturday’s performers reflected the importance of representation. All-women Madrid-based band Hinds performed a set that commented on the importance of seeing women in music and expressed upset over the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Mexican-American DannyLux, who recently opened for Coldplay, bantered in both Spanish and English, singing mostly in Spanish about love and breakups.

Performing at her first festival mainstage, rising pop star Fletcher showed off her vocals with songs like “Cherry,” “Undrunk” and “Becky’s So Hot.” Gracie Abrams slowed things down over at the Discord stage. After recently opening for Olivia Rodrigo and performing her own tour, Abrams was comfortable commanding the stage, waving at fans and belting ballads like “I miss you, I’m sorry” and “Block me out.” 

Alternative rock band Wallows brought a chill but upbeat energy to the stage, while TomorrowXTogether became the first K-Pop band to perform at Lollapalooza and gained attention for its choreography and vocals.

Headliner Willow, who headlined Northwestern’s A&O Blowout in 2021, performed an abbreviated set featuring an array of songs from across her discography. J.Cole closed out the night with fan favorites off his older albums as well as new music.

Sunday

Sunday closed out the festival with sunny skies, marking a surprising four straight days of good weather. Lightfoot also came out on stage again to announce a new 10-year deal to continue hosting the festival in Chicago. 

Five-person band Blackstarkids helped its drummer celebrate his birthday with its set, mixing R&B and hip hop. Stranger Things star Joe Keery, who performs as Djo and recently released a new single, took the stage with his indie rock music.

Charli XCX drew huge crowds with a high energy set that had her frequently telling the crowd to “get loud” or “put your hands in the air,” which fans obliged. Dedicating her song “Boys” to gay audience members, Charli XCX had fans engaged, shouting, clapping and jumping along to other hits like “Yuck” and “Vroom Vroom.” 

Chicago-based band Beach Bunny performed hits like “6 Weeks” and “Sports” at its second Lollapalooza.

While J-Hope was a last minute replacement for Doja Cat, the BTS breakout star made his debut solo performance Sunday night as the festival’s first South Korean headliner. Headliner Green Day closed out the festival with rock music.

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Related Stories:

— The Daily’s 2022 Lollapalooza preview

— The Daily’s 2021 Lollapalooza recap

— The Daily’s 2021 Lollapalooza preview