What started as a touring alt-rock rebellion has become a global music giant. This week on Chronversations, host Stella Huang dives into Lolla’s evolution, from its legacy headliners to rising K-pop influence. She hits the streets to find out what festivalgoers really know about its history. 

Transcript:

0:07: Welcome back to Chronicle Conversations. 

 0:10: I’m your host, Stella Huang. 

 0:15: Everyone is talking about Lollapalooza, but how much do you know about its history? 

 0:19: I did a little research. Lolla wasn’t always the giant music mega event we know today. 

 0:24: Born in 1991 as a touring alt-rock rebellion, shout out Perry Farrell. 

 0:29: Lolla rolled across America like a punk rock circus, but in 2005, it found its permanent home in Chicago’s Grant Park and never looked back. 

 0:37: So with history in mind, I hit Michigan Avenue on the first night of Lolla for a little pop quiz. 

 0:42: Do you know who the headliners were at Lolla 20 years ago? 

 0:45: No, no idea. 

 0:46: No. 

 0:48: 20 years ago. 

 0:50: No, I do not. 

 0:51: Is that something I should know? 

 0:54: No, I mean, I heard, but I wouldn’t have known. 

 0:56: AC/DC? 

 0:58: How long was 20 years ago, not even that long, Britney Spears maybe. It was 2005.

 1:05: Oh, I’m gonna guess, let’s see, what is Perry Farrell in? 

 1:12: Is it James’s Addiction? 

 1:13: Is that his band? 

 1:15: And maybe Green Day. 

 1:17: Emily Jenkins, an attorney from Nashville, got the closest guess. 

 1:21: She said Green Day, and yep, they actually headlined Lolla in 2010. 

 1:26: Close enough. 

 1:27: So I fast forwarded 10 years and then asked them to guess who else was performing in 2010. 

 1:33: Another artist that headlined Lolla? 

 1:35: No, I can’t. 

 1:36: I was 12. I was 12 years old. 

 1:38: That’s Tom Le, who works in IT here in Chicago, was just 12 back in 2010. 

 1:43: So, yeah, of course, he wouldn’t know who was on that lineup. 

 1:46: Hannah Glow, Christie Glow, and Emily, they all guessed a big hit from 2010. 

 1:52: 2010, Who would that have been? 

 1:56: Kesha?

 1:55: Kesha, maybe Kesha from 2010. 

 2:03: 12 years ago. Kesha.

 2:04: Genee Mcrath, who is a college athletic coach, took a smart approach and guessed by music genre. 

 2:10: Oh, I’m trying to think like pop and hip hop. 

 2:13: Chris Brown maybe. 

 2:14: No, I don’t know. 

 2:15: 2010. 

 2:18: Kanye, but I don’t know. 

 2:19: Kanye’s from Chicago. 

 2:20: I say he’s from Chicago. 

 2:22: Like I don’t know. 

 2:23: I would have figured he would have been here prior to that. Lil Wayne maybe. 

 2:26: No, I don’t know. 

 2:28: Still, no one quite nailed it, so I rewind the clock to 2005 when I finally dropped the real names from 20 years ago, The Killers, Weezer, Widespread Panic, Pixies, they were like. 

 2:41: Who? 

 2:41: These were the headliners. 

 2:43: The Killers

 2:44: Yes, I love them. 

 2:45: Favorite band. 

 2:47: Weezer

 2:47: Yes. 

 2:48: Widespread panic. 

 2:48: I don’t know who that is. 

 2:49: No. 

 2:52: Pixies. 

 2:52: No. 

 2:55: The Killers, yes, Weezer, yes, Widespread.

 2:57: No, I haven’t heard of Widespread. 

 2:58: The Pixies, yes. 

 3:00: I remember the Killers were here in 2016, I think, yeah, that was cool. 

 3:03: I have seen the Killers live. 

 3:06: I’ve seen Weezer live. 

 3:08: I’ve not seen the Pixies or Widespread Panic. 

 3:10: Overall, some of those legacy names still carry weight, even if people couldn’t place them exactly. 

 3:16: The recognition was there. Back when it started. 

 3:19: You could walk into Lolla for the price of 2 pizzas. 

 3:22: Today, a 4 day pass can easily top $400. 

 3:25: It’s a lot, but I think you get a lot of bang for your buck. 

 3:28: Like I genuinely do. 

 3:29: There’s a lot of concerts that like a lot of people that you get to see, and the payment plan, we did the payment plan, so it was really cool. 

 3:35: Our sister actually got the accessibility pass and she really liked it and used a lot of the perks for it, and I think it’s pretty accessible as far as that goes. 

 3:43: Pricing wise, I think it’s accessible.. ish kind of if you save for it, you know, make it a priority in this political climate, it’s hard to say, you know, since like 2016 at this point I’ve been tracking the prices, but they’ve been going up. 

 3:57: They’re OK. 

 3:58: They’re manageable. 

 3:59: It’s still worthwhile because a day pass is only like $100 and something dollars, and you see so many artists throughout the day. 

 4:06: While it’s like some of the artists that I want to see, they’re charging like $120. 

 4:10: Just for a night, right, so a festival price is kind of hard to beat, you know, so it’s worthwhile if you plan it out right. 

 4:17: I mean, I think they have a price point that’s affordable for most people if you get it early. 

 4:22: I didn’t think it was bad. 

 4:23: It’s, I mean, compared to the festivals that I’ve been to Bonnaroo, we’ve got one in Nashville called Pilgrimage. 

 4:29: I think this is a lot more for your money for the number of days, and we did the GA plus and the bathrooms are so worth the extra money. 

 4:36: I think people who are willing. 

 4:37: To spend on music. 

 4:38: This is accessible compared to other festivals, yeah. 

 4:41: But with rising prices comes a shift in what Lolla offers and who it draws. 

 4:45: Over the past few years, the lineup has become more global, reflecting changing tastes and audiences. 

 4:51: One of the biggest shifts is the arrival of K-pop. 

 4:53: While not everyone’s racing to that stage, most people I spoke with were open to or even excited about the change. 

 4:59: I think it’s very good. 

 5:00: I think the scene is changing, right? 

 5:02: I’m not against it. 

 5:03: While the changes. 

 5:04: A lot from 20 years and now it’s going through a phase of booking more K-pop artists. 

 5:07: I think I welcome that. 

 5:09: To me that’s the point of a festival is to come and discover somebody you weren’t already listening to. 

 5:13: I think that’s awesome. 

 5:14: I would so watch that. 

 5:15: Yeah, I think that’s amazing. 

 5:17: There’s such a huge demographic that listens to it and loves it and shows up for it, so why not? 

 5:23: Yeah, bring it. 

 5:24: It shouldn’t be just one genre and it shouldn’t be heavily favored one way or the other. 

 5:28: I think you should have a little bit of everybody so that. 

 5:31: They can find something that they like and then maybe get introduced to something different as well. 

 5:36: It’s hard to believe Lolla is in its 30s. 

 5:38: Well, technically a fresh 21 in Chicago, not just as a music festival, but as a full on cultural time capsule. 

 5:45: Whether it came for nostalgic throwbacks, global beats, or just the vibes, Lolla is still delivering surprises. 

 5:51: I hope you all enjoy the last day of Lolla. 

 5:54: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at ColumbiaChronicle.com. 

 5:59: And sign up for our newsletter at ColumbiaChronicle.com/newsletter. 

 6:05: I’m Stella Huang. 

 6:06: Thanks for listening. 

Copy edited by Manuel Nocera