It’s all over. No more Lollpalooza until 2019. But, as the saying goes, remembering is to live again and even though it hasn’t even been that long since the festivities at Grant Park finished taking place, I’m already missing being there.
So now’s as good a time to look back at the festival, and highlight what stood out the most. Check out our 5 key takeaways of Lollapalooza 2018:
Revisit our daily recaps + photo galleries:
- Day 1 – feat. Supa Bwe, Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys
- Day 2 – feat. Clairo, Post Animal, Parquet Courts, Greta Van Fleet, James Bay
- Day 3 – Femdot., Yungblud, Bomba Estereo, Catfish & the Bottlemen, Goldlink, St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend
- Day 4 – Superorganism, The Regrettes, Jessie Reyez, Kali Uchis, Knox Fortune, The Aces, Sabrina Claudio
Basketball jerseys are the official unofficial attire of Lolla
They’re everywhere; no matter where you look, no matter from which stage you’re witnessing a performance, I guarantee you’ll find someone wearing a basketball jersey. From NBA shirts to novelty ones repping the Tune Squad or the Flint Tropics, to a wide range of performers rocking Bulls jerseys like Femdot., Taylor Bennett, The Regrettes, and even Bruno Mars. Everyone was into it; even official Lolla jerseys were taking over the masses. Let’s be cool with the fact that basketball jerseys are a staple of the Lollapalooza experience, just as much lobster corn dogs, group photos at Buckingham fountain, and girls in short jorts rocking creative hairdos and glitter. Also, I’d rather my local festival be known for this than problematic headdresses.
Though there were no women headlining, that didn’t hold them back from making major strides
When exiting Grammy president Neil Portnow made the tone-deaf comment about women needing to “step up” in response to the #GrammysSoMale issue, it was justifiably met with plenty of criticism. But it was never that there wasn’t already a substantial amount of women that are making brilliant music that deserves all your attention and support. This year’s Lolla lineup featured women that are already so dope now, that I can’t imagine they won’t be headlining (or at least playing during much later set times) for years to come. Kali Uchis’ Isolation is legit one of the top 5 best albums of 2018, Jessie Reyez has that unique quality of appealing to both critical/indie-loving fans as well as the mainstream, Billie Eilish is so young and killing it that she can follow a similar trajectory as Lorde, & St. Vincent continues to be one of the most interesting and creative forces around. Women never needed to step up, y’all just need to pay attention better.
2018 saw the start of a new era for the fest
On that note… I really got the feeling that this year’s lineup included a lot of acts that will drive the future of this festival. Along with the women I listed above, I can see Greta Van Fleet step up their game and become a powerhouse, Catfish and the Bottlemen have anthems for days and some of the most vibrant fans I’ve seen in a while for a non-headliner, Bomba Estereo can easily close out the American Eagle stage, Dua Lipa and Camila Cabello and Khalid are making a compelling case for having more headliners from the Pop world in the future a la Bruno Mars, while Jaden Smith is shaping up to be a formidable figure in the Hip Hop world. Lolla will always have a place for another appearance from RHCP or Muse or whoever, but instead of returning every 4-5 years it can likely take twice as long.
Rock needs a punch in the gut
Arctic Monkeys really made a splash when AM came out, and it gave so many fans of Rock some hope that we could be seeing a halfway decent return to form from the genre. But while veterans like Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and Metallica continue to make new music to keep fans from across generations excited, and the likes of Cage The Elephant, The 1975, plus this year’s St. Vincent always bring the goods every time they play, there’s still a big gap between the upper echelon of Rock music and the next rung. Even though I chose to see the Rock acts 3 out of the 4 nights because I’ve been a fan for so long, it always felt like the bigger attractions were on the opposite end of the park thanks to Travis Scott, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Odesza. The roots of this festival was a lot more edgy and alternative, which has seriously changed since then. I don’t think it’s realistic to imagine Rock being the staple for headlining slots in years to come, but if we’re to expect the distorted guitars & drums bands to be formidable part of the mix, something’s going to have to change.
Perry’s gonna Perry’s
To circle back to the idea I mentioned earlier about embracing basketball jerseys, something else that is definitely here to stay is the crowd and general vibe of the infamous Perry’s stage. EDM is alive and strong in that section of the park, and despite the criticisms from people who just don’t quite get it (count me in on that list), it looks like it’ll stay that way for a while. I remember when that was literally under a tent, and in the years after that setup was abandoned, it’s become a behemoth. I won’t be fist pumping or jumping in excitement once the beat drops from whichever DJ is playing there anytime soon, but I can’t knock ’em for what they do and I can’t diss their fans for doing what they do. Y’all keep doing your thing and enjoy it while it still makes sense.
