Lollapalooza 2025: What to know about the 4-day music festival at Grant Park
This year's festival showcases an impressive blend of breakthrough acts and established favorites, with headliners like Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Tyler, the Creator. It's also an exciting year for artists who've found their creative stride, from Grammy-nominated R&B powerhouse Durand Bernarr to genre-defying sensation Amaarae to mega breakout rapper Doechii, a hip hop superstar in the making.
Here's what to know — including a day-by-day look at the music festival.
Lollapalooza opened Thursday in Grant Park for its annual four days of crowds and music, with a lineup through Sunday heavy on female artists — Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter are both end-of-day headliners, with Gracie Abrams and Clairo also among the early crowd favorites.
Official headliners for Day 1 were Tyler, the Creator and Luke Combs, who closed out the night on the T-Mobile and Bud Light stages, respectively. Combs made Lollapalooza history as the Chicago festival's first-ever country music festival closer.
At the main gates at Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive, concertgoers got up with the sun to be first in the entrance chutes before the festival opened at 11 a.m.
Siblings Jacob Fuentes and Sofia Pogue traveled from Texas; this was the first concert ever for Sofia, 13, they said. Tyler, the Creator is her favorite artist. 'I like a lot of music but I feel like I like (Tyler's) the most,' she said. Read more here.
For the second year in a row, Lollapalooza will power its largest stage with a hybrid battery system, marking a growing trend of big-name music festivals transitioning away from diesel-based generators.
When the Chicago staple introduced its hybrid battery-powered stage in 2024, it became the first major U.S. festival to power its main stage with a battery system, which supplements the stage's generators with energy stored from the electric grid. This system reduced the stage's fuel consumption by 67%, and avoided 26 metric tons of carbon emissions, according to data from festival organizers.
This year's system will provide 1.5 megawatt hours of storage, the same capacity as last year. The system will power the T-Mobile stage. Read more here.
What makes this year's Lollapalooza especially compelling is its focus on artists who represent the future of their respective genres. Whether it's Clairo's sophisticated, downtempo evolution on 'Charm,' Mk.gee's innovative approach to indie rock, or The Marías' emotionally resonant breakup anthems, the festival promises to be a showcase for music that feels both contemporary and timeless.
Here's our picks for the best-of-the-best. Read more here.
The wave of visitors should keep most downtown hotel rooms and many restaurants filled, a much-needed boost at a time when overseas tourists seem increasingly reluctant to visit the U.S.
Chicago hotel operators say it's become one of downtown's most important events, and this year may be the biggest ever.
'The Lolla lineup determines overall success,' said Nabil Moubayed, general manager of the 792-room InterContinental at 505 N. Michigan Ave. 'This year's lineup is very strong, so we are seeing exceptional demand. It's exciting for us and the market.' Read more here.
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