Once failed road show now Chicago’s summer highlight
The three-day concert event, Lollapalooza, is the place to be this weekend for contemporary music fans at Grant State Park in Chicago, Illin. Lollapalooza’s 2008 festival lineup features over 35 headlining acts and 100 bands ranging in style from alternative rock, punk, hip-hop, country, and blues, and promises to be one of the summer’s most thrilling and memorable live music events.
Lollapalooza first appeared on the alternative music scene in 1991 when “grunge” was breaking onto the airwaves and hip-hop was emerging from the underground. The festival’s concept was similar to a modern-day carnival, caravanning North America with the most cutting edge music throughout the summer. Lineups included Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cypress Hill, Primus, and Tool. Non-musical acts were also included such as comedians, circus shows, and dance performance, which helped create this neo-Woodstock happening. The live performance was enhanced by tents filled with art exhibits, crafts vendors, and non-profit information booths making Lollapalooza the cultural event of the 1990’s.
The word Lollapalooza is defined as “remarkable person or thing” and sometimes refers to an oversized lollypop. The concert was created by Jane’s Addiction’s vocalist, Perry Farrell in 1991 as a farewell tour for the bands’ six-year career. Due to the tour’s enormous popularity, it continued to run every summer until 1997. 2003 saw the rebirth of the event, though poor ticket sales the following summer in 2004 lead to its eventual cancellation, as larger multi-day festivals such as Bonnaroo which were modeled after European mega-festivals grew in popularity. Along with a team of concert promoters, Farrell reinvented the show in 2005 as three-day destination festival in downtown Chicago.
