Lollapalooza is a three-day music festival that occurs every summer in historic Grant Park, right in the heart of downtown Chicago. This year was my inaugural Lollapalooza, my very first experience at this festival. I came back from Chicago with a different perspective. The 2015 lineup destroyed every other festival this year, and the weekend was other-worldly.
As an experienced veteran to live music, there's some etiquette you learn through the years. There's also some common sense. Keeping yourself alive should always be your number one priority, regardless of how badly you must see that one band. Some folks at Lolla needed to be reminded that their health was a tad important…I saw people seizing in the crowd, people that had fainted being dragged out of the pit, and people vomiting everywhere.
I'm not going to pretend that this festival is for the faint of heart. You need serious balls to survive those three blistering hot days. Obviously any major music festival takes a lot out of you, and you'll see crazy things anywhere, but it's never something you're truly prepared for. Staying hydrated and slathered in sunscreen is the only way to survive. I applied two coats every morning and never reapplied once, and I came home free of sunburn, although heavily sun-kissed.
When looking for a music festival to attend, there are a multitude of things to consider. How much money do you want to spend? How far away can you travel? How comfortable are you with sleeping in a tent? For me, the most important thing has always been the music.
Music connects people; it creates emotions. There's no point in going to a music festival where you won't hear songs that you love. The lineup that Lollapalooza had this year outshined any other festival by far. It was the best lineup because it was the most diverse lineup. You could be watching a rapper then walk a few minutes and hear alternative rock, and down the street you'll find peppy pop jams.
No matter what style of music tickled your fancy, anyone could have found something to groove to at Lollapalooza. There was something there for everyone! Being a person with a strange and eclectic taste in music, this festival appealed to me more than any other. Before this festival, I'd seen a lot of music this summer, but none of it made me feel as good. Lolla reminded me why music was so important, seeing every bit of my musical taste right in front of me.
The festival had a slight hiccup on Sunday because of a storm, and everyone was forced to evacuate while it passed. The gates were reopened in about an hour; however, all of the following acts had to be pushed back and shortened. This didn't seem to stop anyone, as another storm that night couldn't hold back Florence + the Machine and the performance of a lifetime.
Among the highlights were the soulful Alabama Shakes that could give anyone the shivers, and yes, I shivered. Kid Cudi's smile lit up the entire crowd, and Sam Smith gave everyone the feels by closing his set with the emotional "Stay With Me."
I don't know how many miles I walked, how many people's sweat dripped on me, or how many freckles I gained. All I know is that Lollapalooza brought me back to music, the one love that's gotten me through everything. As for my favorite artist of the weekend? I was front row, against the barricade for A$AP Rocky, and no concert that I ever attend will top the amount of energy, hype, and love around me that day.
