Lollapalooza Review – Stellar Tunes Against Gorgeous Skylines

By Ryan Haber

Lollapalooza Review – Every summer travelers from far and wide join Illinois natives to meet in the downtown area of this Midwest epicenter, Chicago, IL. They aren’t coming from for the amazing food, shopping, or other popular attractions Chicago offers, they are here for one thing and one thing only, music. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction started Lollapalooza 25 years ago in Chicago and this year was certainly a celebration.

2016 was a big year for the Lollapalooza crew, in order to properly celebrate a quarter-century of music the event was extended to 4 days. Grant Park, Chicago’s main public park, hosted the event from Thursday August 6^th to Sunday August 8^th. In addition to the main event many official after-parties that ran from Tuesday the 4^th to Monday the 9^th offering numerous opportunities to catch some of the best musicians this world has to offer.

Grant Park is located in The Loop, Chicago’s main business district, pinned between the skyscrapers and Lake Michigan. This venue is by far the most adequate and perhaps the best location for such a large event. Fountains, sports fields, lush green fields, and picnic tables cover this monstrous public attraction, all of which is well utilized to host the eight stages and 30+ food vendors. Under the stars and bordered by the many colorful skyscrapers attendees are blessed with an amazing setting to see some of their favorite artists from this eclectic line-up. In addition to the amazing detail of this popular venue the event is culminated by a fantastic display of fireworks.

Lollapalooza Review Artists – As an avid festival-goer I am strongly inclined to say that Lollapalooza is one of the best. Annually, this event is the host of an amazing and diverse list of artists. Some of 2016’s coolest performers consisted of City and Colour, Danny Brown, Bastille, G-Easy, Lana Del Ray, J. Cole, Kiiara, Rüfüs Du Sol, Major Lazer, Martin Garrix, A$AP FERG, Miike Snow, M83, Radiohead, Two Door Cinema Club, Vic Mensa, Hardwell, AC Slater, Marshmello, Jauz, X Ambassadors, MUTEMATH, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Local Natives, Third Eye Blind, Mija, Ellie Goulding, Seven Lions, Marian Hill, Flume, and LCD Soundsystem. If you are looking for a festival that provides a combination of great centrally located setting, genre variety, access to a city, and an all around wonderful time then Lollapalooza is for you.

House Set of The Summer: Oliver Heldens

Perry’s Stage was definitely the place to be on Saturday. A great lineup consisting of eight artists was able to get fans ready, energize them through the day and close the night out with a bang. Starting at noon the show was kicked off by SMIIRK followed by Generik, AC Slater, Marshmello, and JAUZ. At 5:45pm Oliver Heldens played an amazing hour long set. The Dutch DJ displayed his skill and flexibility with an array of lyric filled tracks that were smoothly blended together. Many DJs have a more than a few bumps when transitioning from track to track but Oliver handled this set like a professional in true Heldeep fashion. This set really was a great intro to the evening and set the bar high for Big Gigantic and Hardwell to follow. Oliver also played a Saturday Night Aftershow at the Roof on theWit.

 

The King of Dreamville: J. Cole

Jermaine Lamarr Cole donned a Chicago Bulls Jersey during his show Thursday night. He was energetic and dedicated to this performance and delivered a great closing concert on the Samsung stage. Located at the south end of Grant Park his voice resonated far and wide reaching almost all the way to the north end. I have been a long-time fan of the North Carolina rapper and was very happy to finally have the opportunity to see him. He played hits from Cole World, Born Sinner, and his most recent album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Cole was a true crowd-pleaser everyone I encountered seemed so excited and grateful to catch him. The crowd cheered every time a new track began and sang word for word all the way through it was a true-life version of Dreamville. It was a reminder of the quality of hip-hop that OutKast played in 2014 at this very same stage. Cole connected with the crowd and made efforts to convey the love and adoration he has for his fans.

 

Sexy Sax of Lollapalooza

ZHU, Griz, & Big Gigantic all busted out the brass for Lollapalooza. Big Gigantic threw down an awe-inspiring set mixed with hip-hop and soul influences. The Perry’s stage was alive and thriving, wonderful visuals and a great display of saxophone wowed the crowd. This was my first experience with Big Gigantic. I have heard great things about their live shows so I was expecting a lot and they absolutely delivered.

ZHU closed out Sunday night with an hour long set at the Pepsi stage. Their ethereal sound and shooting spotlights created a great atmosphere for a more relaxed dance party featuring lots of sexy sax. This was a great way to end the Lolla weekend with a taste of some soothing sounds. ZHU played crowd fan favorites from their two EPs Genesis, The Nightday and their album Generationwhy.

Griz put on a great show as always, after catching him multiple times at Electric Forest I knew I was in for a great show. My favorite surprise at Lollapallooza had to be on Louis The Child’s Sunday performance. Griz and Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic showed up to provide a killer performance of their song “Let The Good Times Roll.”

Rock Out: Red Hot Chili Peppers

The end of Saturday night was my favorite Lollapalooza experience ever. Red Hot Chili Peppers played the Samsung Stage for an hour and a half. Being my favorite band of all time I was so excited to see them play. The track list was perfect, it felt like I had hand selected every song from my own album collection. “Dani California”, “Scar Tissue”, “Otherside”, “Californication”, “Under the Bridge”, and “By the Way” were among this amazing show. This was truly and epic performance, Anthony Kiedis sounded great, Flea delivered the funky basslines as expected, and Chad Smith struck every drum and cymbal perfectly. As for the RHCP newcomer Josh Klinghoffer, although drastically different vocally from the legendary John Frusciante, he is a great addition to the sound. He wailed on the guitar with Flea-like energy and has truly become a great addition to this group his guitar riffs were unique and fantastic. Josh’s voice, his guitar riffs were unique and fantastic.  Lollapalooza Review

In addition to the great shows at Lollapalooza there were many official after shows and other parties hosted during the festival. Tuesday’s City and Colour show at The Metro was awesome. A great time was had at the It’s SO MIAMI Lounge on Saturday at The Renaissance Hotel. This great atmosphere was graced with live performances by James Bell X and Special Weapons as well as sightings of DJ/Actor Christopher Masterson and Isabella Summers of Florence and the Machine. Overall Lollapalooza 25 was a great experience showcasing some fantastic musicians. I can’t wait till next year’s event and I hope to see you all there! Hope you enjoyed this Lollapalooza Review.

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