Last month, the Lollapalooza Chicago 2024 lineup dropped, and let’s just say it lived up to its hype. With star performers like Tyler the Creator, SZA, and Hozier, tickets are sure to be a hot commodity for this summer festival in the city. Let’s take a look at six of the ten headliners and what we can expect from their performances this year.
SZA
SZA has been KILLING it lately, winning three Grammys this year for her hit album, SOS. Her most recent single, “Saturn,” already has over 140 million streams on Spotify despite only coming out a little over a month ago. While predicting Lolla headliners this year with my friends, we concluded that SZA would be a no-brainer, so it’s no surprise she’ll be gracing the stage. This will be her first time headlining the Chicago Lollapalooza stage, but she has previously headlined Lolla festivals in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. SZA is currently predicted to have the largest crowd of any performer this year, with fans from all over the world convinced that no trek is too far to experience a live performance from the queen herself.
Tyler the Creator
Tyler is no stranger to the Lolla stage, as he headlined just three years ago following the release of his newest album, Call Me if You Get Lost. He channeled Taylor Swift by performing music from all of his eras spanning a decade, with hits including “Yonkers” from his first album, Goblin, and the viral “Earfquake” from his Grammy award-winning album, Igor. The deluxe version of Call Me if You Get Lost: The Estate Sale was released in 2023 with a few new tracks, but that is all we’ve heard from Tyler since 2021. So, what can we expect during the festival this year? I sense some new releases coming soon, but that might just be my attempts at manifestation. Regardless, Tyler always puts on a show complete with props and amazing visuals, so I expect the crowd to be nothing less than insanely hype for his set.
Hozier
Hozier is everyone’s favorite extremely tall, unproblematic, Irish musician (I’m begging you to look at the picture of him next to Niall Horan and take in the height difference). His discography dates back to 2014, when “Take Me to Church” from his self-titled album put him on the map and on multiple radio stations for years to follow. Most recently, you probably haven’t been able to get “Too Sweet” out of your head after being on TikTok for a little bit too long. It’s easy to love Hozier, and as a first-time headliner, he’s sure to bring in fans of all ages, as we can expect he’ll perform music from all three of his albums.
Future and Metro Boomin
With the release of their joint album/Drake diss track, “WE DON’T TRUST YOU”, Future and Metro Boomin reminded fans why they’re simply better together. This isn’t their first collab and certainly won’t be their last, as Future previously helped Metro debut at #1 for his album Heroes and Villains with his feature in “Superhero,” which currently has over 663 million streams on Spotify. With their seemingly endless joint discography, they’ll entertain fans with new hits and nostalgic throwbacks as Saturday headliners. Their North American tour will also be in full swing this summer, so many fans are scrambling to see them more than once.
Melanie Martinez
I remember being absolutely obsessed with Melanie’s album Crybaby in 2016 (and maybe I still am), so seeing her as one of this year’s headliners makes me so happy. With the release of Portals last year, Melanie drastically changed her persona, emulating a mythical forest creature and completely covering her face during concerts. This has elicited mixed reactions from the public, but her fans remain supportive and find her transformation beautiful. We can expect to hear a mix of songs from her three albums, but it will most likely be Portals heavy, as this was the case for her Lolla Brazil set in 2023.