The time has come again for people from all over the world to gather in Chicago for Lollapalooza. Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual four-day musical festival featuring a wide variety of artists each year. When I opened Instagram and saw that they posted this year’s lineup, it’s sad to say that I was disappointed for many reasons.
At first glance of the lineup, I looked at the headliners, which are the main artists performing each day. My initial thought when seeing these headliners is I grouped a lot of them into one genre: indie/pop. Singers like Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Tyler, The Creator are the four that fall into this category. There are 10 headliners, and those artists make up almost half. I don’t typically choose to listen to indie or pop music, so seeing these artists didn’t make me the most excited about buying tickets.
In 2023, Carpenter performed as a headliner, which was only two years ago. If someone has performed in the last five years, I don’t think they should be able to headline again until further down the line. Other artists who are just as popular and talented could have taken that prized spot. By now, everyone has heard of Rodrigo and in my opinion I neither love or hate her music. Regarding Tyler, In 2024, he pulled out of the festival six weeks before it started. That was annoying and concerning for the people who wanted to see him. So who says he won’t do it again? As for Abrams, she is a rapidly growing artist, so I am glad she is getting the attention she deserves.
The only true reason I would go to Lollapalooza is for A$AP Rocky. For one, he doesn’t perform often, so I was surprised to see him in this year’s lineup. And two, Rocky is an artist I think everyone can appreciate. As I looked through the other artists performing, I saw no one I truly liked. Knowing this festival is 400 dollars for a four-day event makes me wonder if this year is worth it. I did notice some EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and House Music artists like Rüfüs Du Sol and Dom Dolla. Throughout the year 2024, this genre of music has grown a lot, and once you give this type of music a try it’s really enjoyable.
People wait all year for the lineup of the acclaimed festival to drop. For this year’s lineup, music-goers either hate it or love it, and I am not on the loving side. Lollapalooza should consider more of the fans’ opinions since they are the ones buying the tickets. I was hoping 2025 to be more rap-centered, which is my favorite genre. Still, I will most likely be attending because it’s Lolla–who doesn’t go? But will I enjoy myself to the fullest? No.
