Saturday is Scorching at Lollapalooza!
Starting to get sore here now with the slight sunburn and all the walking we’ve been doing, but this is what we look forward to year after year, the one event above all others, when Lollapalooza returns to Chicago!
I have been personally covering Lollapalooza now for a few years and even now, I am still in awe of the magnitude of Lollapalooza; what it means to the bands, the city and most importantly, the fans. I came across a few people that came all the way from Ireland and another who drove nine hours with her friends to be here and catch only a handful of artists on each day. That is devotion, that is exciting, that IS, LOLLAPALOOZA.
Yesterday, I was surprised to see a Saturday level crowd early on Friday afternoon, it was packed and last I heard, Saturday was sold out, so, I knew it was going to get interesting very early on too.
After an interview with Ruston Kelly and Madeon, we swung out and started to catch the shows, starting with Fantastic Negrito and immediately swung on over to catch one of Lollapalooza’s hidden gems and a spot I’ve not had the pleasure of visiting in years prior, the Bud Light Dive Bar. Rising star, Aaron Aye made his debut and created an amazing buzz with his music and performance.
One of the great things about the Bud Light Dive Bar is the inclusivity that the space provides. With Aaron encouraging everyone to feel free to dance wherever and however they felt like expressing themselves. It is a large open space with a two level building that allows you to watch the show from above if you like. Aaron is definitely on the rise with smooth vocals, tight rapping, great dancing and an overall fun performance experience.
Back on to the comfortably shaded BMI stage to catch some of Russo‘s set, Cailin was admittedly hard to take my eyes from as she moved across the stage in her short skirt and top, but it is the music that matters here. As per usual with the BMI stage, it was packed here for Russo too, with excited screams and cheers in between songs. She performed her hits, “Lonely”, “Joyride”, “Loudmouth” and more!
Caught part of Scarypoolparty‘s set under the blistering and blinding sun, though, no matter how I felt, I felt worse for the band having the sun searing into them as they played. I admit, I was taken back a bit by their set, taken back in a good way. You can definitely see Alejandro’s Trent Rezner influence in what they played while at the same time uniquely something beautifully original about it. I look forward to watching Alejandro’s career grow because he is immensely talented and his performance at Lollapalooza was only the tip of the iceberg, for sure!
Swung on by the Toyota Music Den and managed to see the final song from Liily who I’d missed on the BMI stage earlier in the day. Both the Toyota Music Den and Bud Light Dive Bar are both great places to catch your favorite artists in a more intimate setting. There was also some VIP performances happening throughout the festival, but alas, we were unable to catch any of those.
6lack returned to Lollapalooza on the humungous Bud Light stage and 6lack is so well deserving of being on this stage for etching out a corner of music all to his own while staying true to all his fans. While I appreciate his music, I was not as much in favor of his live set with the emcee he had on stage with him. It was OK though, it just didn’t seem to go well with his music (in my humble opinion).
The last artist I was able to see was Ruston Kelly and you can read my full review here. On my way though, I snapped some photos of some fine festival fans like the three below and of everyone I talked to, they were saying it was the best Lollapalooza yet!
One more day of Lolla to go though, so let’s make it a great one!!
Links:
Official: https://www.lollapalooza.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lollapalooza
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lollapalooza
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lollapalooza