Catch some of the biggest names in alternative music at Lollapalooza. This annual music festival has been touring since 1991 and offers a uniquely diverse lineup. With top name headliners from rock to hip hop, heavy metal to pop and EDM, it’s a chance to discover great new artists and enjoy an eclectic mix of music, dance, comedy, crafts and fun. The four-day festival is broadcast live on TV, but nothing beats the atmosphere of attending this iconic event in person.
Lollapalooza Background and History
Lollapalooza burst onto the scene in 1991, and was the brainchild of Perry Farrell, the lead singer of Jane’s Addiction. Rather than a static festival, he wanted a touring festival that would travel from place to place, featuring non-mainstream music. Today’s Lollapalooza still moves around, with events taking place in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Paris, but in the USA, the festival has settled at Grant Park in Chicago in recent years. The unusual name, Lollapalooza, is a quaint old word with two meanings: a strange and exceptional event, and also a giant lollipop, which is the Lollapalooza logo. Those lucky folks who got Lollapalooza tickets to the very first festival in 1991 would have seen Nine-Inch Nails, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Ice-T, as well as performances by a circus freak show and the Shaolin Monks (not a band, but the real monks.) Blending politics and counter-culture with great music, Lollapalooza was at the forefront of the grunge movement and became famous for its mosh pits and crowd surfing. Today, it offers a choice of several stages at each festival, including Perry’s Stage, Playstation, BMI and Kidz stages, giving festival-goers the chance to sample a huge range of different musical styles.
Music legends and much more at Lollapalooza
Perry Farrell’s original vision was to avoid mainstream artists and focus on every participant, rather than just the headliners. This still holds true today, but the festival has seen some huge names appear over the years, from Metallica to Waylon Jennings, Red Hot Chili Peppers to The Strokes. One of the biggest acts ever booked, Nirvana, unfortunately cancelled at the last minute, and Kurt Cobain was found dead a few days later. The festival always manages to surprise with unusual choices, and many big artists, like Lady Gaga, performed here before they were famous. Lollapalooza is a great place to discover new music and new talents. It’s a whole lot more than music, too, with a vast range of entertainment, including tattoo parlours, food stalls, political activists and performance art. Lollapalooza tickets are famous for selling out quickly, and four-day passes to the 2016 event sold out within one day.
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