The 35th anniversary of Lollapalooza opened Thursday, July 30 under sunny skies as a Goodyear blimp drifted above Grant Park near Columbia’s campus and crowds of Lorde-loving teenagers, tattooed punks and glowstick-wearing ravers streamed through the festival gates.
While the four-day festival still spans nearly every genre, this year’s 170-artist lineup places a stronger emphasis on rock than in recent years, echoing Lollapalooza’s roots as an alternative-rock touring festival founded by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell.
The first day’s lineup reflected that shift, with acts including Wet Leg, Viagra Boys and 5 Seconds of Summer among the day’s 47 performances.
“Honestly, I feel like it was like everything we dreamed of. It was just so euphoric. At first we were scared, like the crowd was going to be small, but then everyone just appeared and it was like a movie. It was amazing,” said, Matt Tilles, the lead vocalist and guitarist for local Chicago folk-rock band The Braymores.
The band, formed by Tilles, Keegan Melaniphy, Russell Oren and Connor Kohanzo, performed an initially empty set at the BMI Stage that quickly became crowded, surpassing their expectations.
“I think with AI and the kind of technological world we live in now, I think people are craving that connection, that authenticity. And I think that’s something that we also crave as listeners,” Tilles said. “So that’s kind of why in our own music, we want to bring out that authentic connection, that old school vintage thing.”
Sitting under a tree with a plate of hot fries, Moe Wolf, from the state of Washington, repeated the sentiment about the higher volume of rock at the 2026 festival, noting that Charli XCX’s new album, “Music, Fashion, Film,” which she’ll be performing on Friday, July 31 at the festival, carries a more rock-inspired sound that allows its audience to express frustration in a healthy environment.
“Charli’s always pushing this shift. I feel like it’s kind of introspective and a lot of the songs are kind of, I don’t know, they’re not all happy, good fun, but they let you go into that place of human emotion that sometimes people don’t want to feel,” Wolf said. “But music is there to make you feel all kinds of emotions.”
However, Lollapalooza still features a large collection of varying genres, including the debut of the festival’s first-ever Philippine pop band, SB19, which drew a crowd of buzzing fans who wore merch for the band’s historic Chicago performance.
Connie Erana, a committed fan who traveled all the way from Las Vegas to see SB19 perform, bought the four-day pass because she didn’t know when the band was going to play, wanting to beat the tickets potentially selling out.
Erana is in a group chat of SB19 fans called “Eighteen” that traveled all around the world, from California, to London and the Philippines to see the band perform.
“First Filipino boy band that will be breaking the sound in the global world,” Erana said. “This is history in the making.”
For festivalgoers waiting for their favorite artist to play, Lollapalooza continues its “Beyond the Music” experiences and booths this year, featuring 45 experiences spread across Grant Park.
Festival-goer Kwame Aryee-Mensah from Crystal Lake, Illinois, who was in line for the Google experience, said that these experiences show the influence of the festival.
“It tells you how culturally relevant it is for these companies to want to be here and want to advertise to everyone who’s coming,” Aryee-Mensah said.
Joined by him was Ella Hendrickson, also from Crystal Lake, who felt there was a preference for musicians that were popular with younger audiences.
“I think Lolla is supposed to be about branching out and getting a wide variety of genres and listening to new artists,” Hendrickson said.
Festivalgoers Sienna Ho, Brenda Reyes and Sheila McGrath felt that the festival still highlights enough diverse genres for all audiences to enjoy.
“The headliners are becoming more mainstream artists, not in a bad way, but just like artists that are well known all throughout,” Reyes said. “That would be my biggest thing, seeing more of those more expensive people to book here, which is pretty cool, actually.”
Lollapalooza brings crowds to Chicago that extend beyond the main stages in Grant Park.
Matthew Forbes, who is from San Diego, California, said that, although he wishes there was more of a rap presence in Lollapalooza, the festival itself serves as a way to give a kinder light to the city.
“It’s different events throughout the city, along the river, deeper into downtown, after parties– it brings in so much of a boost to the city that I think supports it and brings it more attention to countrywide news,” Forbes said.
A couple from Indiana, Jack Winans and Samara Carroll-McCammon, have been dating for three months after meeting at a music venue and decided to attend the 2026 Lollapalooza together.
Carroll-McCammon, who has attended the festival five times prior, also felt that the lineup this year was lacking in rap and hip-hop voices, potentially catering to a more college-aged, “frat” crowd.
This is Winans‘ first time at Lollapalooza, and he agreed about the saddening lack of hip-hop and rap, but felt that the increased focus on rock and EDM felt intentional.
“Even in places like Portland and Indianapolis, I feel like a lot of audiences want to go out and have a good time. And I feel like it’s kind of bringing that back,” Winans said. “It’s a hard time right now. I want to go out and move.”
Additional Reporting by María Paula Sanchez
Copy edited by Antonio Chaves
