For the past two days, crowds have swarmed to Grant Park for Lollapalooza, a four-day music festival. Decked in gems and head-to-toe glitter, attendees have waited and pushed through crowds in the scorching heat to see the likes of Karol G, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar take the stage.
Here are some notable acts from the past two days and some notes about what to look forward to this weekend.
Thursday
On Thursday morning, Lesly Reynaga performed with Mariachi Northwestern. The group is NU’s premier mariachi group. Throughout the day, Sofi Tukker, Noah Kahan, Carly Rae Jepsen and Dom Dolla also performed.
Karol G made history Thursday as the first Latina headliner at Lollapalooza. She played hit after hit in her 20-song setlist, moving across the stage in her leopard print pants and her rolling stones tank top. The first female artist to score an all-Spanish-language No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, Karol G spoke with her fans, encouraging them to sing as she performed her hits “200 copas,” “MAMIII” and “PROVENZA,” among others.
Across the park Thursday night, Billie Eilish took the stage. Debuting her new, red and black hair, the “What Was I Made For” singer took the stage in a Chicago Bulls jersey, singing her hits “you should see me in a crown” and “bad guy.” Eilish also dedicated her song “Never Felt So Alone” to Angus Cloud, a star in HBO’s Drama Series “Euphoria,” who died earlier this week. Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson took the stage at the event, introducing Eilish to the crowd gathered in his city.
Friday
Chicagoans and visitors returned to the park Friday to see a number of performances, culminating in headliners Kendrick Lamar and The 1975. Earlier in the day, Declan McKenna, Diesel, Sabrina Carpenter and others performed in steadily increasing temperatures. Carpenter ended her set by addressing Lollapalooza in her song “Nonsense” as she does in every performance.
Later in the evening, English pop band The 1975 took the stage for a concert in line with their usual, notably personal performances. Headliner Matty Healy took the stage smoking a cigarette, and appeared to joke about a recent trip to Malaysia in which Healy criticized the country’s anti-gay laws and the band was banned from performing. The group sang hits “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You),” “About You” and “Chocolate,” among others.
Meanwhile, rapper Kendrick Lamar took the festival’s T-Mobile Stage. Fans began arriving at the stage’s barricade to wait for Lamar around 11 a.m., hoping to get as close to the rapper as possible. He played a range of songs from his Grammy-winning discography, including “DNA,” “HUMBLE,” and “LOVE.” He left fans waiting, eagerly anticipating his arrival –– scheduled for 8:45 –– appearing in an all-navy outfit around 9:00 p.m. Fire and fog overtook the stage at numerous points, while his backup dancers ran up and down the stage behind him.
The Weekend
Don’t worry: The fun isn’t quite over yet. Festival-goers will return the next two days, eager to hear from sets including Odesza, Maggie Rogers, and The Revivalists on Saturday, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Ray, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Sunday.
Lollapalooza has implemented a number of notable changes this year, distributing Naloxone free-of-charge and increasing its capacity nearly by 15,000 people. The festival’s General Admission has sold out.
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