I have always been pro-music and I have always been one to encourage anyone to go to concerts to experience their favorite artists live, but I had yet to experience a music festival, that was until this past weekend. Lollapalooza is typically a 3 day festival in downtown Chicago with a diverse lineup sure to satisfy any music lover. This year Lollapolooza was a 4 day event due to the celebration of 25 years of Lolla. I experienced my first music festival this past weekend and even though I didn't stay all 4 days I still had the time of my life.
So what exactly was Lolla like? Well, when someone tells you that a music festival changes your life, take their word for it because I can tell you it sure does.This year Lollapolooza had a heavy lineup from J. Cole, Future, Martin Garrix, Radiohead, Ellie Goulding, and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Not to mention there were a couple surprises here and their because whats a 25th anniversary celebration without a few surprises?!
Day one of Lollapalooza was a start to a good 4 days. Even though the biggest downfall of the first two days was the weather it didn't stop anyone from having a good time. During both day one and two of Lolla rain made its way to downtown Chicago, but the thing that amazed me was how no one seemed to care. Rain isn't usually ideal for a music festival, but the crowds of people were just so happy to be at Lolla that the weather was definitely not an issue. My advise is if you're thinking about going to Lollapalooza next year or even any outdoor music festival an umbrella or rain poncho would be a good way
The food at Lollapalooza is something any Lolla-goer can't miss out on. Other than the music I was excited to taste all the good food and let me tell you this food was amazing! There was a variety of food from Mexican food to your typical burger and fries to original items like "sexy" tots (which are tots with cheese and bacon), and BBQ sandwiches. The lines were also not horribly long because there was so many food stations. So if you plan on attending Lollapalooza next year make sure you try as much food as you can!
The performances of course were also not disappointing at all. The first day my group and I watched J. Cole perform, but little did we know just down the street at the next stage basketball player Dwyane Wade was introducing recording artist and Chicago native, Chance the Rapper as a surprise guest during DJ Duo Flosstradamus' set. Hearing about this was devastating, but luckily this wasn't Chance's only appearance. He also made time to perform his song "No problems" during rapper Future's set. Along with Chance the Rapper there were also surprise guest appearences by Twista during ASAP Ferg's set.
The main reason for this festival is the experience of witnessing your favorite artist live along with having fun and just letting go and enjoying being in the moment. For the first time in a long time I felt in the moment. I wasn't worrying about what was going to be happening next week or even the next day because I was so happy to be vibing to the same good music as thousands of other people.
Lollapalooza is an experience; it is exploring different types of music and just enjoying yourself for a few days standing in a tight crowd with thousands of people just to see your favorite artist up close. So if you were to ask me would I do it all again I would say yes, but my tips for Lollapalooza are go with people you can have a good time with, drink lots of water, buy a Lolla shirt (trust me you'll want to wear it all the time), wear comfortable shoes, try all the food, and most importantly enjoy yourself.
