The legendary festival in downtown Chicago, Lollapalooza still finds a way to evolve and thrive at its long-standing home in Grant Park.
The history of Lollapalooza has seen decades of impressive growth and adaptability. Once a touring alt rock festival, it’s now an iconic four-day event that returns to downtown Chicago each year at the end of July.
Lollapalooza is a cultural institution for generations of Chicago-area attendees and traveling music fans. This is more apparent than ever in 2025. Not only does the all-ages crowd feature the usual underage concertgoers celebrating the end of summer, but it also draws plenty of families that come together to see pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo and time-honored bands like Korn.
The festival often gets a bad rap among locals. Whether it’s the traffic and overcrowding issues (115,000 attended per day) or the reputation for rowdy and rude people, Lolla is often overlooked by Chicagoans once they’re old enough for full-time employment. However, Lollapalooza isn’t going anywhere, as indicated by its multi-year contract to stay in Chicago through 2032 and its fastest sellout in recent memory in 2025.
Lolla is a festival on the same level as other powerhouses like Coachella and Bonnaroo. But what makes it so special is the downtown Chicago location. There is simply no other festival on this scale that has a more beautiful urban backdrop at every single one of its stages. There’s a certain energy to Lolla, and the opportunity to see artists you love and discover plenty of new ones starting at noon for four days keeps us coming back.
One way Lollapalooza keeps changing is the addition of side stages throughout the venue. The Toyota Music Den and Bud Light Backyard have become staples on the north end of the park, hosting artists in a more intimate setting compared to their main stage sets. This year saw Lolla take that a step further. There were dozens of brand activations spread throughout the grounds from sponsors like Venmo, Liquid I.V., and Patron. These areas were extremely popular with attendees to rest and grab refreshments. Many of them also hosted secret sets, with Flux Pavilion, Hex Cougar, Two Friends, and more performing at side stages.
The music at Lollapalooza is a mix of all things both mainstream and independent. Global stars including Luke Combs, Sabrina Carpenter, and A$AP Rocky headlined each night, while other main attractions were K Pop act Twice and electronic trio Rufus du Sol.
The electronic music at Perry’s always portrays the biggest artists and genres in the EDM landscape. This year’s highlights included back to back sets from IsoXo and Knock2 on Friday night. Dom Dolla hosted the stage on Thursday, capping off a day that saw Cloonee, Prospa, and more house acts warm up the crowd. Nostalgia was running high during Flux Pavilion and Martin Garrix, while up-and-comers Alleycvt and Marlon Hoffstadt were some of the weekend’s hidden gems.
Lollapalooza is still a live music and alternative rock festival at its core. Indie rock legends Foster The People and Cage The Elephant delivered in much-anticipated sets. Bands such as Bleachers, Wallows, Stay Woozy, Djo, and The Marias played to passionate crowds.
Pop and hip-hop were well represented too. Gracie Abrams, Gigi Perez, Max McNown, and Alex Warren were some notable acts on the lineup. Doechii and T-Pain did not disappoint, and innovative EDM/hip-hop/hyperpop producer 2hollis directed the crowd through 45 minutes of rap, bass drops, and mosh pits during Thursday’s sunset.
2025 was a testament to Lollapalooza’s consistency. One of the first massive festivals to return in 2021, Lolla has since delivered several successful long weekends. This might not have been my all-time favorite Lolla, but the experience ran about as smoothly as a festival of this size could. The massive crowd and sprawling venue can be overwhelming, but getting to see so many artists in one place each year makes it all worthwhile.
With a deep lineup of music for 10+ hours each day and plenty of sponsors eager to showcase their products to an open-minded crowd, Lolla is in a good position to keep thriving. The overall feel of the festival can be a little corporate, with sponsorships at seemingly every open lawn space now, but the music and vibes always prevail.
And the weather this year was simply perfect. The temperatures at last year’s Lolla pushed 100 degrees, but this year’s forecast was 80 and sunny. It was a memorable festival weekend spent on Chicago’s lakefront complimented by food, deserts, and drinks from a world-class city.
There’s no doubt we’ll be making our return to Lollapalooza next year. 2025 marked our 15th year attending, and it’s a Chicago music festival tradition like none other.
Lollapalooza 2025: Best Sets
- 2hollis – Hip-hop energy complimented by filthy bass. If you’ve seen him live, you know it makes sense that he has close ties to OWSLA-era Skrillex.
- Max McNown – Rising folk pop/country artist Max McNown serenaded the T-Mobile Stage early Saturday afternoon. Think Noah Kahan meets Nashville.
- Flux Pavilion – A pleasant midday surprise at Perry’s. Dubstep Flux is back. We can’t wait for his b2b tour with Doctor P celebrating the collab album.
- Marlon Hoffstadt – The German artist performed properly in the birthplace of house music with his own unique touch and more ravey elements.
- Bleachers – Jack Antonoff’s incredible talent was on full display at the Bud Light Stage, as the high-energy indie band tore through their greatest hits.
- Dom Dolla – Tech house to drum n bass with some “Riverside” by Sidney Samson mixed in. Dom headlined well on Thursday night.
- ALLEYCVT – The kind of set that you watch from the back and get drawn into. New school bass music heavy on the old school dubstep sounds.
- Artemas – Wandered over here and caught a great performance. A talented stage presence that’s much more than “i like the way you kiss me”.
- Rufus du Sol – The Australian trio had a big ask to close the festival’s main stage on Saturday and they delivered. Pure bliss and positive energy.
- Martin Garrix – Some of the progressive house moments were slow, but the big room highs outweighed the lows alongside some killer production.
Author: @michael__premier
Photos: @austinhandlerphotography (full album)
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