Festival Coverage

Lollapalooza 2019 Series [REVIEW]

Written By: Natasha Lenart

Featured photo credit: Shea Flynn

Lollapalooza is undoubtedly one of the most popular music festivals on the planet. It’s also one of the longest running festivals in the United States. Because Lollapalooza is so well established, it has amassed hundreds of thousands of loyal fans all around the world. With an estimated 400,000 attendees annually, Lolla weekend is a crazy event for the city of Chicago as a whole.

This year, I had the absolute pleasure of providing media coverage for the festival, and took the opportunity to get to know the festival better. As a native Chicagoan, Lollapalooza is a yearly event that I’ve always known. It seems as if because I’ve known it so long, I’m almost desensitized to how huge the event actually is. I met tons of people at the festival this year, and for the first time I realized the true reach this festival has.

The large majority of attendees I met over the weekend traveled far and wide to be there. I ran into a group of Australians who travel halfway around the world to attend every year because they love the festival so much. They explained that the festival is so well produced and provides so many amenities and services, along with the incredible music lineup, that it beats any other music festival they’ve been to. That conversation really forced me to appreciate how well the festival is run.

I met a couple from Texas who had always heard about the festival and wanted to attend, and finally made the move to go this year. Again, I was shocked at myself for never even considering that, just because the festival has always been within arms reach from me. My experience over the weekend honestly made me develop a deep appreciation for the festival as a whole. The work it takes to throw a massive event with a lineup full of stars and to consistently put it on without a hitch, while simultaneously providing top-tier amenities, is not an easy feat.

Lollapalooza definitely does not shy on providing unique luxuries for festival attendees. Of course, shelling out for VIP, Platinum, or Lolla Insider tickets guarantees a top notch experience featuring complementary drinks, food, transportation, and prime viewing areas. However, Lolla makes the experience just as special for GA attendees, making the steep price point well worth it. Being an experienced festival goer, there were a number of seemingly small luxuries that I really appreciated. For one, flushable port-a-potties. Not to mention, bathroom areas were plentiful and lines were essentially non-existent. Another extremely important consideration was that free water stations were everywhere, and seeing as it was pushing 90 degrees everyday, I was so surprised to see that lines were reasonable at the stations. Plus, food and drink vendors were abundant. By providing these amenities in large numbers, the festival is really able to curb a common issue that occurs when you have so many attendees– huge lines.

Of course, the best part of Lolla weekend is the music. Over the four days of the festival, any where you happened to find yourself, you can guarantee you’d be listening to some awesome music. A few note-worthy sets of mine throughout the weekend included Rufus Du Sol (my absolute favorite set over the weekend, to no one’s surprise), Lane 8, Tame Impala, and Chevelle.

Madi Ellis Photography.jpg — Photo Credit: Madi Ellis Photography

We can’t wait to see what is in store for Lollapalooza 2020, but it’s guaranteed to be bigger and better than ever. Hope you all had a safe and wonderful weekend and we’ll be seeing you next year, no doubt!