
Lollapalooza is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Music genres include but are not limited to alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop, and electronic dance music. Lollapalooza has also featured visual arts, nonprofit organisations, and political organisations. The festival, held in Grant Park, hosts an estimated 400,000 people each July and sells out annually. Lollapalooza is one of the largest and most iconic music festivals in the world and one of the longest-running in the United States.
Lollapalooza was conceived and created in 1991 as a farewell tour by Perry Farrell, singer of the group Jane’s Addiction. The first Lollapalooza tour had a diverse collection of bands and was a commercial success. It stopped in more than twenty cities in North America. In 2020, Spin rated the first Lollapalooza as the best concert on a list of “The 35 Greatest Concerts of the Last 35 Years”. Lollapalooza then ran annually until 1997 and was revived in 2003. From its inception through 1997 and its revival in 2003, the festival toured North America. In 2004, the organisers decided to expand the dates to two days per city, but poor ticket sales forced the 2004 tour to be canceled.
In 2005, Farrell and the William Morris Agency partnered with Austin, Texas–based company Capital Sports Entertainment (now C3 Presents) and retooled the event into its current format as an annual festival in Chicago. In 2014, Live Nation Entertainment bought a controlling interest in C3 Presents.
Grant Park is a large urban park 319 acres (1.29 km2) in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Located within the city’s central business district, the park’s features include Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum Campus. Originally known as Lake Park and dating from the city’s founding, it was renamed in 1901 to honour US President Ulysses S. Grant.
The park’s area has been expanded several times through land reclamation, and was the focus of several disputes in the late 19th century and early 20th century over open space use. It is bordered on the north by Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road and McFetridge Drive, on the west by Michigan Avenue and on the east by Lake Michigan. The park contains performance venues, gardens, art work, sporting, and harbour facilities. It hosts public gatherings and several large annual events.
General Admission £30 + booking fees