It’s official: Lollapalooza returning in 2021, bands to be announced Wednesday
Lollapalooza will return to Grant Park at full capacity July 29-Aug. 1, organizers announced Tuesday, ending months of speculation about whether Chicago’s largest music festival would be canceled again because of COVID-19. This year’s lineup is set to be revealed at 10 a.m. Wednesday, with tickets going on sale two hours later.
“What’s up, Chicago? I’ll see you this summer with my good friends, the Foo Fighters,” frontman Dave Grohl says in a video of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell and Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady announcing festival dates. The video, nearly two minutes long, also features music from rumored act Journey and Chicago rapper Polo G, a past performer.
Lollapalooza typically welcomes 100,000 daily attendees to see more than 170 acts perform across eight stages. This year, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result is required to attend. For festgoers who are not fully vaccinated, a negative test result must be obtained up to 24 hours before entry. Organizers said they will detail the festival entry process in early July.
“The easiest way, by far, if you want to attend Lollapalooza is to get vaccinated now. You’re going to be hearing some more in the days to come about ways in which we may tie Lollapalooza tickets to opportunities for vaccination,” Arwady said during a Tuesday news conference. “And, certainly, I want to thank the folks who are organizing here for their willingness to say, We want to bring this festival back. We want to bring it back big, and we want to bring it back in the safest way that we can, which really is around encouraging people to get vaccinated.”
The U.S. vaccine rollout recently expanded to children ages 12 to 15, but it’s unclear if the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to kids younger than 12 before Lollapalooza begins. All ages have been welcome at Lollapalooza in the past, and the festival’s Kidzapalooza youth area is very popular.
This year’s event is being billed as Lollapalooza’s 30th anniversary. Conceived by Farrell as a farewell tour for his band, Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza was a touring festival in the early ’90s before settling in Grant Park in 2005. The festival expanded from three days to four in 2016.
A virtual Lollapalooza was held last year after the in-person event and other Chicago festivals were nixed to slow the spread of coronavirus. The 2020 Lollapalooza lineup had not been revealed before the festival’s June 2020 cancellation. Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents was on the hook to pay the Chicago Park District $750,000 for last year’s canceled fest, per the terms of their multi-year contract, which spells out financial terms, clean-up rules and other regulations. The contract is set to expire at the end of this year.
Lollapalooza is a major revenue generator for the Park District, which reportedly received $5.7 million from the festival in 2019. The local economic effect is even greater with restaurants, hotels, music clubs and trains packed with visitors.
Music fans were concerned Lollapalooza wasn’t going to happen this year after some of the country’s largest festivals, including Burning Man in the Nevada desert and California’s Coachella and Stagecoach events, were scratched again. Some 2021 international Lollapalooza editions, such as Paris and Stockholm, were canceled as well.
Chicago, meanwhile, is in the bridge phase of its reopening plan, which allows for no more than 30 people per 1,000 square feet at outdoor festivals. Festival season is set to begin here in July with the Windy City Smokeout country music celebration outside the United Center. Attendees are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test and wear masks to enter.
Pitchfork Music Festival, Riot Fest, North Coast Music Festival and Spring Awakening Music Festival organizers have announced their 2021 lineups for later in the year.
