Lollapalooza Day Two: Sun, Song, and Star-Power
Friday, August 4th, marked Day Two of Lollapalooza which brought even bigger crowds, and with it, even more star power than Day One. From the first performances, yours truly was awestruck by the sheer caliber of talent on these stages. This sunny afternoon was not like anything I was expecting for my first Lolla experience but went way beyond.
The Up-And-Comers
Loviet was the first of many sets I attended, and oh what a start that was! I’ll admit that I did not know who Loviet was before attending her show. However, this changed for me and many others from the moment I stepped in front of her stage. Not only did she nearly triple her crowd by the end of her set with her lively rock and roll sound and stellar guitar playing, but not once during her whole set did her vocals falter. Her voice was some kind of Pink/Kelly Clarkson hybrid angel-baby that none in the audience will soon forget. This mixed with her no-nonsense persona which led to announcements to the crowd like “the titties are titying” and that her next song is about her hometown and how it is just “really shitty”, made a stan out of me! We love her.
Check out her post-show Interview with The Garnette Report HERE!
A Stellar Lineup for Lollapalooza
Despite the heat, the day only got better from there. Acts like Loveless and Sudan Archives gave performances of their lives on the Bacardí and T-Mobile stages respectively. Followed soon after by Ninajirachi, both of who also sat down with The Garnette Report to talk all things music.
And later, Tems on the T-Mobile stage, who performed hits like “Free Mind”, “Essence”, and “Higher”, and even had people across the park at other stages singing along.
Tems was also the beginning of the end of the night, as from there, the nearly perfect lineup alternated between Lollapalooza ‘s Coinbase and T-Mobile stages.
Starting off with Sabrina Carpenter at Coinbase, who I must say, I never fully understood the hype until that night. But whatever that X-factor is, she has it when she performs. That pint-sized queen ate and left no crumbs, winning them all over with commanding stage presence, endless hits, and a flawless cover of ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love On Me”.
Fred Again.. came next hyping up the crowds of both Coinbase and T-mobile. Both of which continued to amass in anticipation for the glorious Jessie Reyez and finally rap legend Kendrick Lamar.
Reyez delivered a powerfully heartfelt performance that talked about everything from love and heartbreak to sexual assault and harassment survival, and even performed an unreleased song that gave all the sensual vibes. She closed her set with an acoustic version of her mega-hit, “Figures” which had everyone singing their hearts out all whilst simultaneously turning back towards the T-Mobile stage for the Kendrick performance that was set to begin as soon as she finished.
KENDRICK
And though I was a little confused why people would be so seemingly rude as to leave before her final song was over, I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. I had never seen the rapper live before. However, from beginning to end, Kendrick’s Lollapalooza finale performance was nothing like I had ever experienced. The show was a true phenomenon to behold and had the entire section of Grant Park packed up multiple sets of stairs and into the street with festival-goers.
At one point during my attempt to leave slightly early to beat the traffic, I was physically unable to make it up the stairs that led to the exit due to the sheer volume of people. After eventually finding a narrow path up the stairs, I swear I heard a few growls on account of my interruption from the performance!
Nothing I couldn’t laugh off, but it only spoke to the die-hard dedication of Kendrick fans, and how ten out of ten, *chef’s kiss* his performance was! That even one distraction nearly caused a mob. But with recognizable hit after recognizable hit performed by the rapper, I can understand the response.
Featured Image via Chicago Sun Times