With summer comes the bees, the trees, and the music festivals. Weekends packed full of live music create some of the most iconic moments in music history, with lineups that showcase the meteoric rise and comebacks of the best performers spanning generations.
While there have been rumors about who will attend for weeks, the official Lollapalooza lineup was dropped on March 18 and immediately broke the internet. Hitmakers from across generations and genres pack the weekend of July 31 through Aug. 3 in Chicago. Thursday to Sunday have almost no gaps in entertainment, and to get into just how good the lineups are, we can break it down day by day.
Thursday, July 31
Looking at just the headliners, Tyler, the Creator stands out, not only for his amazing music and legendary festival performances but also for the unfortunate memories of him having to pull out of Lollapalooza 2024 just weeks before the event. While some people may feel burned by Tyler, I’m extremely excited to see how he’ll use what he knows from his festival experience, combined with the legendary hits from his latest album CHROMAKOPIA, released in late 2024, to put on an amazing show.
Luke Combs is also headlining Thursday, and while much of their audience doesn’t overlap, it’ll still be amazing to see the show that he’s able to put on. He’s one of the biggest names in country music and serves as a major genre shift from past headliners and closers. Despite this, I’m excited to hear the Windy City belt out “Fast Car” as the first night of the festival fades away.
Gracie Abrams joins the two headlines on Thursday, and she’ll, without a doubt, draw a crowd of sad pop girls, especially after her extremely successful season opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras tour. Cage The Elephant, ROLE MODEL, half•alive, and Girl Tones help round out the indie vibe for the day, and I’m very excited to see how the show schedule helps these smaller artists grow.
Friday, Aug. 1
Friday’s headliners pop off the page with a Lollapalooza veteran in Olivia Rodrigo. Rodrigo is currently leaving her guts on the stage as she performs in Chile and Argentina during the festival leg of her GUTS (Spilled) World Tour. Everything we’re seeing is setting off major anticipation for what she’ll put together for this summer.
Joining her Friday night are the Nu Metal Legends, Korn. Sharing the night with Rodrigo, many fans hold out hope for an unexpected collab, while some want to go from our new pop-punk princess to their parents’ favorite metal band without a break in tempo.
T-Pain, Amaarae, The Dare, and Tanner Adell bring throwback pop, afro-pop, house, and country to the different stages on day two of the festival.
Saturday, Aug. 2
Rüfüs Du Sol is one of the headliners on Saturday, leaning more into the electronic dance-pop scene for that part of the night. While I may not know many of their songs, I have no doubt they’ll be able to carry and amplify the energy of the weekend.
I’m extremely excited to see TWICE grace the headlining stage Saturday night, as they are legendary in K-pop, having dominated the industry since their debut in 2015. I want to see how they merge the energy of a large girl group and high production value with the iconic vibes of a live music festival like Lollapalooza.
Iconic K-pop soloist BoA joins TWICE at the festival, along with soloists Fuji Kaze and Damiano David of Måneskin. Doechii, Clairo, and MARINA are also slated to grace the stage on Saturday, packing the schedule with incredible acts.
Sunday, Aug. 3
Sabrina Carpenter headlines Sunday to round out a long weekend in the middle of the European and Second North American leg of her Short n’ Sweet Tour. Carpenter is no stranger to the insane environment of a music festival, using her last appearance at Coachella 2024 to play her hit song “Espresso” and tease “Please, Please, Please” before the release of Short n’ Sweet.
Rihanna’s partner and rapper, A$AP Rocky, is the last headliner for the weekend. Rocky is another legendary festival performer, and while I’m very excited to see what he’ll do with his time closing out the festival, we all have one burning question: Is he bringing out Rihanna?
Even if my queen Rihanna isn’t on stage, Sunday stages will include The Marías, Dominic Fike, Remi Wolf, and KATSEYE, with more of a mellow indie and pop day to round out the weekend.
While I unfortunately won’t be able to make my way to Chicago for the festival, Hulu will be following suit with Lollapalooza 2025 and will be streaming certain performances and stages for subscribers.
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