Each winter, there are always a few frigid days that make me question my decision to live in Chicago. These are always short-lived for many reasons, and one of them is Lollapalooza.
Yes there are other music festivals across the country, but these are few and far between. Not to mention most of other fests focus on a specific genre, and literally none of them can lay claim to better skyline views during shows. There just isn’t anything else like Lolla out there, period.
There are plenty of places on the web to find info about the festival, but it’s hard to find all everything in one place. That’s where we come in.
We decided to create a comprehensive guide for you — complete with advice, do’s, don’ts, the lineup, schedule, and everything else you’d want to know.
So without further adieu…
Who’s Playing When?
Here’s the latest schedule:
What Should I Do to Prepare?
Well, hopefully you got a ticket. These sold out within hours of being made available to the public, so if you don’t have one now, you’re probably in trouble. Check with your friends or post on social media to see if anyone in your circles has any extra. Who knows, you might get lucky.
If you were one of the more prepared Lolla-goers who got tickets, don’t celebrate just yet: you’re still going to need a hotel and place to park. At this point, a lot of places are going to be booked, so check around and don’t wait until the last minute. As always, we offer options to reserve parking spots online through our site, so if you want to avoid the hassle of full parking garages, I recommend that as well.
If you’ve already got the whole thing planned out – give yourself a nice, big pat on the back and watch a few episodes of House of Cards. This won’t really help with preparing, but it’s awesome and you’ll love it. Really though, I’m hooked.
When Is It?
Lollapalooza is from Friday, July 31st to Sunday, August 2nd.
Where Is It?
This is an obvious one to the seasoned Lolla-goers, but it’s worth mentioning that the music fest is held in Grant Park. If you’ve never been, you’re in for a treat. You’ll be happy to know that Millennium Park is actually a part of Grant Park, along with Buckingham Fountain and some of the most amazing lake and skyline views that the city has to offer. It’s a great place to see concerts all day, and if you have any down time, there are plenty of other things to do here as well. Check out our page on Millennium Park if you’re interested.
What Shouldn’t I Do?
Hop the fence.
Look I’m not a goodie-two-shoes, and we’ve all taken some unnecessary risks in our day, but this is just stupid. Not only are there multiple fences and security guards watching them, but you could get in a lot of legal trouble for this little stunt. Every year, people are injured by stampeding crowds crashing the gate too. Just get your hands on a ticket like everyone else or find something else to do.
Oh, and leave your selfie stick at home.
Who Should I See?
As always with Lollapalooza, there’s a quite a bit of everything to choose from. Obviously, Paul McCartney is going to be the biggest draw, and you should probably see him no matter your age or musical preferences.
When looking at the other headliners, they’re all good, but not exactly genre-transcending. Still, I would check out Florence and the Machine, Metallica, Sam Smith, and (depending on how you feel about electronic dance music) Bassnectar. For those who are into rap, Logic is an up-and-coming artist with a lot of promise.
Parking
Parking at the Millennium Garages is probably the most convenient, but it will cost you about $35/day. Cheaper alternatives include garages on Wabash and Randolph and Dearborn and Van Buren. Both of these offer some fairly decent specials with $20 rates for all day Lolla parking. Two days costs $40 with in & out privileges (meaning you can come and go as you please for no extra cost over the 48 hour period), and they have 3-day specials for $50 with in and out privileges as well. Click on each name above to see their deals, reserve your spot, and buy parking online ahead of time.
Can’t wait? Here’s a recap video of last year’s fest:
Well there you have it, the Ultimate Guide to Lollapalooza. Looking for the biggest acts? See the full lineup with the headliners at the top here.