Fans at Lollapalooza by Taylor Regulski
Lollapalooza Music Festival celebrated its 31st edition this past weekend in Chicago’s historic Grant Park, and we were there to capture the festivities. With over 170 artists on 7 stages, it was impossible to see each performer. So we rounded up our favorites of each day. From well-known headliners like Metallica and Green Day to up-and-coming artists like Daisy the Great and Claire Rosinkranz, Lollapalooza is a festival with artists for every music taste. Here are some of our favorites:
THURSDAY
Maude Later by Ismael Quintanilla lll
Our first day started with indie-pop performer Maude Latour on the T-Mobile stage. With headliner Metallica’s drum set looming behind her, Maude was made for the large stage and the large crowds it draws as she performed tracks “Lola” and “Superfruit” all without losing her mega-watt smile.
Maude’s day was the busiest of any artist, as she performed three times throughout the day: once on the main T-Mobile stage, then shorter sets on the smaller Bud Light Seltzer Sessions and Toyota Music Den stages.
Maude Latour by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
About the busy day, Maude told us:
I was nervous that I was going to be so exhausted by the last one but somehow they got better and more intimate each time, and it ended up that each one was so special in its own way. It’s been the best day of my life.
Irish rock band Inhaler was next on our agenda, performing on the opposite end of the festival on the Bud Light Seltzer Stage. The four-piece band is made up of Josh Jenkinson on guitar, Robert Keating on bass, Ryan McMahon on drums, and vocalist Elijah Hewson who is also the legendary Bono’s son. Fans flocked to the set before the band took the stage and played favorites like “When It Breaks” and “My Honest Face” before performing their newest single “These Are The Days.”
3/4 of Inhaler by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
We spoke with the band (minus Robert who was feeling under the weather) about Lollapalooza being their first U.S. Festival. They told us:
It’s amazing and blowing our minds, because we’ve watched so many of our favorite bands Lollapalooza sets on YouTube, and we just hope to be one of those videos for some other kids.
Jesse Jo Stark by Andy Doan
Rocker Jesse Jo Stark was the next set we caught. She fully embodied the rocker aesthetic with a cut-off tank and studded belt as she performed older tracks as well as new material from her upcoming album DOOMED “so bad” and “modern love” before telling us
playing Lolla was like tasting a hot tamale for the first time.
Christmas came early with indie artist Remi Wolf as her set on the Discord stage was a full-blown Holiday theme with lights, inflatable Christmas tree, and Remi donning a Santa hat – all while performing her hits “Photo ID” and “Sexy Villain.”
Metallica by Pooneh Ghana
Metal Gods Metallica closed out Day 1 with a setlist spanning their four-decade career; from “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Enter Sandman” to “Nothing Else Matters” and “Moth Into Flame.” The rockers closed out their set with an encore of “Damage, Inc” and “One” before closing with “Master of Puppets,” the track that once again brought Metallica into the spotlight from its prominent feature in Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” complete with a tribute to character Eddie Munson on the bands big screen.
FRIDAY
Day 2 began with another day of beautiful weather, meaning that the following days would most likely bring rain and the unbearable heat that has always been part of the Lollapalooza experience.
Daisy the Great by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
Brooklyn duo Daisy the Great kicked us off at the BMI Stage with their dreamy tracks. The duo consists of Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, who said of playing Lollapalooza:
It is very surreal. We are extremely grateful, loopy, and happy.
The duo played their viral track “The Record Player Song” along with “Cry In The Mirror” and unreleased track “Liar.”
Del Water Gap by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
Another Brooklyn resident taking a Lolla stage was Del Water Gap, the solo project of Holden Jaffe. He told us that playing major festivals this summer including Lollapalooza is
Absolutely surreal and humbling and beautiful to be touring and playing these festivals and getting to play my music and showing up and having people there to see me and sing along.
During his set, Holden told the crowd that 2 years ago he had almost given up on music entirely, before proving his worth while performing tracks “Perfume” and “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat.”
Joey Valence & Brae by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
Hip-hop artists Joey Valence & Brae brought us back to the ‘80s and ‘90s with their take on old-school hip-hop, winning over new fans with their tracks “Punk Tactics” and “Hooligang.” The duo has only performed live 10 times, and have never been to a major festival as Braeden Lugue (Brae) told us
I have never been to a festival in general, so the fact that we’re at Lollapalooza as artists is so surreal
with Joey chiming in to say
It’s been such a short time period from when we really started with this project to here and it’s been incredible.
girl in red by Ashley Osborn
Next we saw Norwegian artist and queer icon girl in red who had boundless energy from the start as she performed “You Stupid Bitch” and “bad idea!” before slowing it down with “we fell in love in october.”
Machine Gun Kelly by Roger Ho
We closed out the night with pop-punk superstar Machine Gun Kelly. Extremely humble, MGK began his set by telling fans
Hi Lollapalooza! We are Machine Gun Kelly and we’ve been waiting for this moment
before introducing each member of his band with a quick story and instrumental solo.
MGK began his set with tracks “god save me” and “drunk face” before jumping off the stage and climbing the rigging in the middle of the crowd during “drug dealer.”
The set was full of guests, as MGK brought out Iann Dior for “Fake Love Don’t Last,” Glaive during “More Than Life,” and Avril Lavigne for “Bois Lie”
SATURDAY
Saturday and Lolla Day 3 kicked off with even more great weather and Spanish female band HINDS.
HINDS by Ashley Osborn
The four-piece band HINDS consists of Carlotta Cosials on vocals/guitar, Ana Garcia Perrote on vocals/guitar, Ade Martin on bass, and Amber Grimbergen on drums. The bands indie-rock set spanned their three albums with tracks “Just Like Kids (Miau)” and “Garden” before choosing a female from the crowd to play bass with them onstage for “Burn.”
Another indie band Wallows commanded the large T-Mobile stage with their energetic set consisting of tracks “I Don’t Want to Talk,” “Pictures of Girls,” and “Are You Bored Yet?”
Charly Jordan by Roger Ho
We switched things up as we made our way to the Tito’s stage for some EDM from former model and social media personality Charly Jordan. Charly worked the crowd as she DJ’d tracks “Soak Her,” “Blackstrap Molasses,” and “Innerbloom” to a crowd of energetic fans.
Charly Jordan by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
Charly told us
It’s surreal, it’s crazy. I came here as a fan a long time ago, so its really amazing to come back and be doing all of the things I always wanted to do.
J. Cole by Greg Noire
Day 3’s headliner J. Cole commanded a large crowd as one of the biggest names in hip-hop. His laid-back sound was the perfect end to a long day, as he performed hits “Wet Dreamz,” “Work Out,” and “No Role Models”
SUNDAY
The final day of Lollapalooza had the most beautiful weather yet, and we made sure to take full advantage of it by heading to alternative singer/rapper De’Wayne’s morning set.
De’Wayne by Greg Noire
De’Wayne is a rockstar who performed as if he was on the main stage during his tracks “National Anthem,” “Adios,” and “Stains.”
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz set was in the middle of the day, but fans had lined up early for a chance to see the budding superstar. Much to her fans delight, Claire played viral hit “Backyard Boy” as well as “don’t miss me” and her newest release “i’m too pretty for this.”
Claire Rosinkranz by Ann Storlie for Melodic Mag
Speaking about her set, Claire told us:
Dude, its crazy! Its my first festival ever, and I don’t think I have fully processed or understand it yet, but Lolla has been amazing.
Maneskin by Taylor Regulski
Italian rockers Måneskin commanded the largest stage with their blend of garage and glam rock. Vocalist Damiano David glided around the stage, as bassist Victoria De Angelis and guitarist Thomas Raggi played off each other the way 80’s rockers used to do. Drummer Ethan Torchio was not one to be left behind, as he played his heart out on the drum kit as the band performed “SUPERMODEL,” “MAMMAMIA” and the cover that made them famous — “Beggin’.”
We made our way over to the opposite end of the fest to see pop superstar Charli XCX, who performed her hit tracks “Yuck” and “Vroom Vroom” dressed as a Grecian gladiator, flocked by two male backup dancers; before performing her hit “Boys” and dedicating it to the gay boys in the crowd.
Green Day by Dusana Risovic
The final night of Lollapalooza was coming to a close as we made our way to the headlining stage for the final time to see punk legends Green Day. The bands 2-hour set consisted of tracks from throughout their large discography including classics “American Idiot” and “Holiday” as well as “21 Guns” and “Basket Case.”
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong told fans
When I was a kid, I lived outside the city where a lot of bands didn’t play. But I still got to see all of the great bands like Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Smashing Pumpkins all thanks to Lollapalooza, a traveling circus back then, and one guy – Perry Ferrell. So thank you, Perry!
Green Day closed out the final night with “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Time of Your Life” before the stage was awash in light from fireworks.
In our opinion, the 31st edition of Lollapalooza was a success and we cannot wait for next year.!
Lollapalooza 2023 will take place August 3-6 in Chicago’s historic Grant Park.
