Lollapalooza 2016 Lineup Review

Chicago’s premiere music festival is celebrating its 25th year! Lollapalooza has expanded

itself this year especially; the crazy three-day weekend that music fans know and love has

been expanded to four full days of live performance. Fans everywhere are currently

wondering how they’re going to survive.

To add to excitement, tickets were put online and quickly bought out on Tuesday (four day

passes) and Wednesday (single day passes), with the lineup announcement in between.

And what a lineup announcement it was.

The four-day festival is going to feature around 170 performers. The main headliners are: J.

Cole on Thursday night, Radiohead on Friday, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction

on Saturday and LCD Soundsystem on Sunday. In what seems like a blast from the past,

Lollapalooza is getting the fans who went to the first festival to come to the 25th.

Things to note about these headliners are that RHCP will be returning for the fourth time,

and that Jane’s Addiction is led by Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell (there is even a

stage named after him in the park). They were the very first festival headliners, supporting

the desire of Farrell to have the festival return to its 90s roots.

Other acts worth noting are: Lana Del Rey, G-Eazy, The 1975, Major Lazer, Martin Garrix,

Disclosure, Jane’s Addition, Ellie Goulding, and Flume. Many of the performers are

Lollapalooza veterans, some making this their third or more time attending. It leads to

some questions about whether there was some trouble finding acts to commit.

Another thing to consider about this lineup (although it’s pretty good) is who is missing.

Where are Macklemore and Ryan Lewis? How about Sia? Børns? Looking at other festivals,

there are as many similarities as there are gaps. Coachella will headline LCD Soundsystem,

Guns N Roses, and Calvin Harris in April. Bonnaroo has Pearl Jam, J. Cole, LCD Soundsystem,

and Ellie Goulding.

While the Lollapalooza lineup is going to produce an incredible four days, one could

wonder when they’ll start expanding the artists they host. It leads to questions about

whether there will be opportunities for new and rising talent to make a name for

themselves on the Lollapalooza stage.

– Emma Parkinson