Lollapalooza, the largest music festival in the Midwest, kicked off today. Here’s what you missed.
Day one of the four-day festival saw an incredible and diverse lineup of artists, including Hozier, Kesha, SPINNALL, Labrinth, BigXthaPlug, d4vd and The Japanese House; however, the T-Mobile mainstage stole the show, with Tyla, Chappell Roan and Megan Thee Stallion.
Although Olivia Dean and Labrinth saw full and dance-heavy crowds throughout the day, Tyla, the singer known for “Water,” drew most attendee’s attention during her set at 3:15 p.m. on the T-Mobile Mainstage. Despite her catchy, Billboard charting music, Tyla’s set drew a more relaxed crowd.
“I’m from South Africa,” the singer told the crowd between songs as dancers filled the stage. “Now I’m gonna show you guys what goes on at home.”
A sea of festivalgoers swayed and sang along to songs such as “ART,” “Breathe Me,” “Thata Ahh” and, of course, “Water.” The songstress and her backup dancers took to the stage with a passionate and rhythmic set full of captivating choreography all set to the backdrop of a giant tiger — that also doubled as a platform for the singer to perform “Truth or Dare.”
Dressed in a pink and teal lucha libre wrestling style outfit, Chappell Roan drew one of the biggest crowds of the day during her set at 5 p.m., rivaling that of both the headlining artists of the night, Hozier and Megan Thee Stallion.
Packed into the pit like sardines, festival goers of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities welcomed the Midwest princess herself with pink t-shirts and cowboy hats, creating a sea of pink as they enthusiastically sang and danced along to hits such as “Hot to Go,” “Casual,” “Naked in Manhattan,” “Pink Pony Club” and “Femininomenon.”
Joined by a handful of backup dancers and bodybuilders, Chappell Roan’s set, which lasted just an hour, was worth standing in the sun in 88-degree heat for many of the festival goers, including those who told the Recorder they had purposely bought one-day tickets just for her.
Over on the Perry Stage, DJ Farley “Jackmaster” Funk attracted many festivalgoers looking to just have a good time, dance and vibe to some traditional house music. Although it was not nearly as crowded as the two main stages, not one, but two bars nearby attracted a significant number of guests who gathered and greeted each other, danced and simply hung out.
“Welcome to the city of house music! Make some noise out there,” Farley Funk encouraged guests coming and going from the stage as he closed out his set.
On the Bud Light Stage — after the sun went down and the scorching heat of the day finally lessened — Hozier took the stage before an eager, screaming crowd of fans. After his first few songs, the singer noted the unpredictability of the weather in Chicago; thunderstorm warnings had been issued earlier in the day, yet not a single drop of rain disrupted the festival or his set.
The Irish-born singer gave his band a brief break halfway through his set to play “Cherry Wine,” one of his older songs, acoustically before launching into “The Work Song,” “De Selby” and “Would That I.”
“Chicago, I had the great honor of recording this song, as I said earlier on, with a hero of mine, the great Mavis Staples, who hails from your very beautiful city,” Hozier said before playing “Nina Cried Power.” “I wrote this song to remind myself the small ways people show up for each other and the small ways people show up for their community, they show up for the people around them, you know?”
Megan Thee Stallion’s set over on the T-Mobile stage took place the same time as Hozier but drew an entirely different crowd of “hotties” — what the artist calls her dedicated fans.
Opening with the hit song “HISS” taking the stage in a Barbie pink, glittery and fluffy bikini and cowboy boots, Megan Thee Stallion gave a high powered, one-hour set full of heavy hitting dancing, sentimental crowd speeches and “hot girl realness.”
The rapper, who performed at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Atlanta, GA on July 30, played as many of her hits as possible for the hyped Lollapalooza crowd, launching into “Ungrateful,” “Thot Sh*t” and “Freak Nasty,” one after the other while about a dozen dancers backed her up on a set of risers.
“I feel a lot of love tonight. I really love the Chicago hotties,” she said, before playing “Cobra.” “You do matter. You are loved. Don’t let nobody take your happiness, Chicago.”
Tickets for Day four of Lollapalooza are still available at lollapalooza.com. Follow along for more on X, Facebook and Instagram @lollapalooza.
The Indianapolis Recorder will be onsite covering Lollapalooza 2024. Follow along at indianapolisrecorder.com for updated stories, artist interviews and set reviews.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
