Last summer, formerly roaming, currently Chicago-based festival Lollapalooza celebrated its 20th anniversary. This past weekend, Perry Farrell’s brainchild barreled into its third decade, once again taking over Grant Park (and most of the surrounding area) with three days of marquee headliners, upstart buzz bands, and plenty of sun, food, and eventually, the requisite mud. Saturday’s installment saw a bit of a hitch, as the entire site was evacuated when a massive thunderstorm descended on the city; fortunately, the event resumed three hours later, with the mass exodus both out of and into the site handled remarkably well.
Nature’s wrath aside, it was another banner year for Lolla. Among the highlights were main stage sets from Florence + The Machine, Metric, Sigur Rós, and the Black Keys — the latter of whom received a personal introduction from Chicago Mayor (and former White House Chief of Staff) Rahm Emanuel. Jack White closed out the festival with a headlining performance featuring both his alternating all-male and all-female bands. And then there was our personal highlight, soul man of the hour, Frank Ocean, whose Saturday night set on the Google Play stage was both a revelation and the perfect reason to steer clear of that night’s main stage acts. Click through for our exclusive photo gallery from the entire weekend, both onsite and off, and if you were there too, share your own favorite moments in the comments.
Sharon Van Etten. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Metric. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Die Antwoord. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Die Antwoord. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Thenewno2. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
M83. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
M83. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Rahm Emanuel introduces the Black Keys. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
The Black Keys. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
The Black Keys. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Grimes performs at Filter’s Friday night afterparty. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Festival-goers are evacuated from the park on Saturday afternoon, as a severe thunderstorm descends on Chicago. The event resumed at 6pm with an updated schedule and extended hours. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Fun. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Washed Out. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Frank Ocean. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Frank Ocean. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Yellow Ostrich perform at one of the many official Saturday night afterparties. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Of Monsters and Men at the official House of Blues day two afterparty. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Of Monsters and Men. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
The Jezabels. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Amadou & Mariam. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Amadou & Mariam. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Little Dragon. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Little Dragon. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Sigur Rós. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Florence + The Machine. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Florence + The Machine. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Jack White. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Jack White. Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou
Photo credit: Jessica K. Chou