This past weekend I went to my first ever Lollapalooza in Chicago! Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling leading up to this weekend in my favorite city. I was looking forward to seeing bands like Haim, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and so many more. I have to say up until this weekend I was one of the biggest haters of electronic music there is. My boyfriend wanted to see a lot of DJ's sets, and I went along for the ride (even though I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as the bands I've come to know and love). I've always been a firm believer that "real music" was made by people and instruments, and the music I've loved my whole life has been only bands made up of those two things. I was always the person who thought a DJ would just throw together pre-made sounds that came with a program on a laptop, along with samples of other people's songs, and all the person on stage would do is hit play. This weekend proved every perception I had of electronic music was wrong, and actually turned me into a fan of the genre.
The electronic stage at Lollapalooza was called "Perry's" and it actually turned out to be my favorite stage to visit. There was always music playing, even between the different DJ's that came on, it was still the only stage constantly playing music. Perry's was surrounded on the outer rim by trees (perfect for sitting and relaxing between sets) and inside the trees was just a massive party. Everyone at the stage was so kind to each other and you could feel the love for the music and the community. Some of the other stages at the festival were so packed, with no room to move, and people pushing and shoving with no regard of others, but never Perry's. There was room for everybody, there were no dirty looks or scoffs when you tried getting closer to the stage, because everybody understood that you just wanted to have fun and jam out (and the deeper into the crowd you went the more fun it got). The good vibes and the community at Perry's alone were enough to keep me going back!
As if the community at Perry's wasn't enough, the music was phenomenal. I never realized how much of a show an electronic set really is! The music was always fun and perfect to dance to, and every single person in the crowd couldn't help but move to it. I had always perceived all electronic music in the same way. I never thought there was much variety to it, and every DJ was playing similar music with a different name on it, man was I wrong. I never heard a song that sounded the same, nor did I hear a DJ that sounded similar. I never thought electronic music could be so incredibly diverse. There was music that sounded like I was dancing at a club, there were DJ's that had cray heavy bass, DJ's that had super groovy and funky sounds, and there were also DJ's who's music I can only describe as grimy (which were my personal favorite). There were even DJ's who played actual instruments on and along with their tracks. Some of my favorites were GRiZ who plays the saxophone like a boss, and Lindsey Stirling who is a master on the violin. Not to mention the light shows and visuals that go along perfectly with the music, Perry's was perfect.
I learned so much this weekend, and watching these DJ's mix their music right in front of me, and seeing the passion they really do put into every single song, it's so easy to see why this new music movement has swept my generation. I feel like I've been introduced to an entirely new world after this weekend, and though I'm still true to my classic bands, and I may not necessarily listen to electronic music on my drives home, I can't wait to explore more of these shows and the community surrounding it. After Lollapalooza 2016, I have to admit, I am a fan of electronic music and everything that goes along with it.
