I'm very bored at work so I counted 12 bands I actually listen to or have listened to, 25 I've heard of but don't listen to, and about 144 I've never heard of. Further proves to me that Lolla is not my scene whatsoever haha
Lolla has become a fest aimed at local Chicago teenagers...its bizarre how bad the US festival scene has become, specifically among the multi-genre major fests...the genre specific niche festivals (Riot, Movement, Shaky Knees, etc) seem to be the smart move for music fans who aren't looking to go and just post on Instagram all day...
I mean I'm excited for Lolla and I post on Instagram like once a year. If you don't keep up on music outside your niche, of course when your niche gets less popular, popular music fests are going to start being less appealing to you. There's a lot of really incredible artists this year, and I really wouldn't say it's appeal is to only teenagers.
I went to lolla every year since 2006 besides last, and likely this year save for the strokes day. I’ve accepted Riot and Pitchfork are for me moving forward.
I would say I enjoy most genres, outside of big beat. This fest is historically the worst when it comes to crowds of teenagers (Gov Ball is a close second), considering most can't make it to Bonnaroo or Coachella. What about this lineup is appealing to someone over 22? J Balvin, Flume, and The Chainsmokers are low key appalling as major fest headliners, when compared to smaller niche fests, as well as about any Euro fest. Not saying these are terrible acts (well, the chainsmokers misogynistic selves are pretty terrible), but do they justify a headlining spot? J Balvin has yet to put together a 90min live show, and last time Flume headlined a multi-genre fest (Wayhome 2017) it had historically bad attendance and folded the next year. If you live in Chicago and are picking this trash lineup over P4K or Riot Fest you should really be questioning yourself.
Bought my four day. Maggie Rogers, Mitski, King Princess, BMTH, JBrekkie, and Beach Bunny are my top picks from the undercard.
A pop festival in a major American city drawing a large group of young people isn't anything to get worked up on. I'm over 22, I like Lolla because it's the best run festival in the city, has the best layout and is extremely easy to get in and out of.
Like I said, it's great for their target market! It's awesome that kids in Chicago have a place to go, however, among people who attend lots of festivals this is consistently ranked near the bottom due to the avg age of attendees. The plus side, if it's a guitar based act, odds are there won't be much of a crowd to get a good spot up close! However, Pitchfork is still the best festival in Chicago. Robyn, Haim, and The Isley Bros. as headliners is strong AND unique.
You didn't really justify your last post (I had to make sure you were the poster I quoted) but thank you for your opinion! I a long with a lot of others think it's a good lineup. If you don't like it, don't go
Those are all B-Headliners first of all, so them being paired against even bigger headliners on another stage is not bad at all. You think Coachella doesn't bring in teenagers just trying to take instagram pictures? Give me a break. Not to mention, the lineups among Lolla, Coachella, and Bonnaroo are all pretty similar. If you're over 22 and you don't see any appeal in Tame Impala, Childish Gambino, Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monae, Maggie Rogers, and many more, then you really probably just aren't following new music anymore. If the line up isn't for you, there's nothing wrong with that, but calling it trash just because it's not catering to the acts you personally want/who Pitchfork and Riot Fest book is odd to me. And also those festivals take those artists from Lolla, making it harder for Lolla to book in the first place.
Yes, teenagers in retro basketball jerseys are annoying, but they primarily go to like, two stages. It's not hard to let them live their lives and have fun.
I like them all. Pitchfork is the most mixed for me. There’s usually a day or two I want to go. Riot I like every year, but it’s very much for my rock fix and some other stuff mixed in. Specifically what I like about Lolla is it gives me a chance to see a ton of different kinds of artists in one weekend, and a lot of people outside the zone of what I normally may see.
For sure not going this year, between Glastonbury, Woodstock, and Pitchfork I think I have all the bases covered for this year.
Yikes haha. Look, I don't like (or know) most of the lineup but I know it's not my thing so why be mad at it when it's something I'm not forced to go to? I'm from Chicago and I've never been to Lolla because it's usually just not my thing. Riot Fest is more my speed, every year there's at least 10 bands a day I wanna see, so I just do that instead. Don't cry, it'll be okay.
Haha yeah if you don’t like the line up save the $400. I wish I liked, unfortunately I do not. Whatever. Still going to get a day pass to get smoked at the strokes and will be fingers crossed death cab, mitski, Alex g, Sharon van Etten are on the same day.
I went to Lolla 3/4 days in 2017 (was out of town last year) and, while yes there were a lot of teens and retro basketball jersey kids, there were equally a lot of 40-50+ year old WXRT-listening guys and gals. There’s also a Lollapalooza group on Facebook with a whole group that goes every year filled with music fans of all ages (you can tell because they always do a group photo together at Lolla and host a pre party). I think overall it’s a pretty solid lineup. I would see all of the main headliners except The Chainsmokers. The undercard is pretty solid too, especially if you like female musicians, you’re in luck. Janelle Monae, Kacey Musgraves, Mitski, Maggie Rogers, Jade Bird, Hayley Kiyoko, Bishop Briggs, Men I Trust, and more. Side note; I love that Beach Bunny is playing, one of my favorite bands from Chicago. Lili has worked her ass off and deserves this. You can shit on the festival all you want, or you could be glad that this city has the opportunity to host not just three major festivals, but many other mid sized and smaller ones so if you don’t like one lineup you have plenty of other options (there are street festivals all the time in the summer). Also, as mentioned above, it really is an easy festival to navigate and get out of. Maybe I am biased because I currently live walking distance to the festival, but compared to Riot where the subway is nowhere near the entrance (and that everyone is trying to get on to) or Pitchfork where there’s one subway station everyone is trying to get on to, it’s pretty easy.
does this festival usually sell out? I think my gf and I are going to attend but can't buy tickets right away
Last year 4 day pass didn’t sell out on the first day either, it took a few days for them to sell out.
My guess is last year they never really sold out. They just allocated more single day passes to the inventory (which make more money for them anyways).