Though I am a bit biased, I still believe that Chicago is the greatest city in the world, even in the eyes of people other than myself. Chicago has not only deep dish pizza, but we have gifted the rest of the world some pretty spectacular musicians over the years (not to mention, Chicago is home to the famous house from the hit TV show Shameless!).
Lollapalooza Music Festival is every Chicago native's favorite time of the year. It's a four day musical free for all when the city gets taken over by concert goers from all over the world. It's always a treat to see one of your fellow Chicagoans onstage. Each of the following artists have been through the rite of passage that is performaning at Lollapalooza. Climbing from opening acts to headliners, all of them have made it big time since leaving the greatest city in the world.
Kanye West
It’s a well-known fact that everyone’s favorite Kardashian spouse, Kanye West, may not have been Chicago born, but he was certainly Chicago raised. Before his Yeezus days, he was making music in his home on the south side. Maybe it’s something in the water, but the Windy City must be giving its musicians a leg up.
Chance the Rapper
I will never forget sitting in my freshmen year gym class at my high school in Oak Park, when a friend of mine showed me a song called ‘Juice’ that a kid from the school down the street from mine posted on Soundcloud. I wasn’t too impressed at first and figured it was just another Soundcloud rapper trying to make it big from nothing. Fast forward four years later and that Soundcloud rapper just became the first person to ever win a Grammy without ever signing with a record label. If that’s not a hometown hero, then I’m not sure what is. Shout out to Chicago for that one.
Louis the Child
One of my favorite EDM acts right now is New Trier High School graduates, Robby Hauldren and Freddy Kennett of Louis the Child. These two DJ’ed at their own high school graduation. The duo is now headlining festivals and are now in the middle of their second tour. They are able to sell out venues that they had once only dreamed about ever performing at in the first place. These two are the definition of a hometown hero.
There are so many more famous acts that have emerged from the streets of Chicago into the musical world who have made a huge impact on the industry. It seems that today, many of these acts just happen to be surfacing all at once. The past few years have been incredible for Chicago musicians, and for that I am grateful that I live in the greatest city in the world.
