Lollapalooza is taking over Chicago’s iconic Grant Park this weekend with an incredible lineup of musicians, great food, and cool brands. The four-day festival has some of the biggest names in music as well as rising stars in the industry. Road Trip Playlists is thrilled to be making the trip to Chicago to take in all of the festival’s offerings.
With an completely stacked music lineup we wanted to help make some of your decisions easier with 12 of our must see acts from this weekends lineup. The list will be three of our ‘Must See’ artists on each day. It is impossible to go wrong with the headliners that Lollapalooza lined up so our list excludes any of the headliner decisions. Take a look at each days must see’s for when you are planning out your festival days.
Thursday
Lollapalooza being four days makes this festival special. So many great acts are taking the stage and Thursday kicks off the festival beautifully. The night is headlined by both Lil Baby and Metallica. Here our our Thursday must see’s below!
Sam Fender
British Singer-songwriter Sam Fender is set to take the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage on Thursday afternoon. Fender has been co-signed by the likes of Elton John and Adele and is nominated for the UK’s holy grail Mercury Prize. He is one of those acts we were most excited to see once the schedule was released and is an instant must see. The artist has impressed with hits ‘Seventeen Going Under,’ ‘Hypersonic Missiles,’ and ‘Spit of You.’ No matter the song you will be blown away by the impressive vocals of this rising star on Thursday.
Petey
Petey has been winning fans with his incredible sense of humor displayed in his mega-viral TikTok hits, but he is also an incredible musician. The Chicago native will be taking the Discord stage with his band to play some of their songs. So far, the band has had an impressive string of releases including ‘California,’ ‘Haircut,’ and my recent favorite ‘Big Bad.’ Seeing Petey perform is one of the acts that we are most excited about this weekend at Lollapalooza.
Remi Wolf
Remi Wolf is always a must see act for us. Her live act has blown us away everytime we have attended. Her upbeat music will bring a dynamic energy to the Discord stage on Thursday night. Remi’s vocals shine every time you see her and the group has hits. Don’t miss your chance to see Remi Wolf on Thursday.
Friday
Friday has another nonstop lineup with excellent artists at just about every turn. Machine Gun Kelly and Dua Lipa are the headliners, and you really can’t go wrong with which of those artists you see. It also has artists like Muna, Glass Animals, Wet Leg, and more.
Flipturn
Flipturn is no secret one of our favorite bands. I fan-girled over them for nearly the entire episode of their appearance on our Road Trip Playlists podcast. They are one of the best young live acts touring today. This group has been performing together since forming in high school and our now playing giant stages like Lollapalooza and it is a thrill to see how far they go.
Del Water Gap
Del Water Gap was on our list of Must See’s for Governor’s Ball and the performance was so good we had to put it on our Lollapalooza list. The ‘High Tops’ singer is one of music’s biggest rising stars. Don’t miss your chance to see him perform on the Coinbase stage on Friday afternoon.
King Princess
King Princess is about to release an exciting new album ‘Hold On Baby’ and fans will be lucky to hear some of the songs for the first time on Friday evening on the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage. King Princess was one of the artists when the Lollapalooza lineup was released that we were most excited to see live.
Saturday
Saturday has not one, not two, but THREE headliners. Festival goers can choose between Kygo, Willow, and J.Cole. However, all day of the Saturday lineup at Lollapalooza has amazing artists like Alexander 23 who just released his new album, Fletcher, Gracie Abrams, Dashboard Confessional, and more.
Wallows
Wallows is one of our favorite acts we have seen this year. After one of our writers in Toronto’s amazing review of the event we have to have the young band on our must see list at Lollapalooza. The band will be taking the T-Mobile stage on Saturday night in Chicago. Their performance is one of the more anticipated on the Lolla stage this weekend.
Chelsea Cutler
Chelsea Cutler is amazing. I saw her perform for the first time at Noah Kahan’s sold out show last fall and their song ‘Crazier Things’ was stuck in my head for almost six months. We saw he perform an electric set at Governors Ball earlier this summer and will include her on any must see list we make. Even though we have seen it just a few week’s ago we can’t wait to see Chelsea on the Coinbase stage.
Turnstile
Turnstile is an absolute riot. Although, I have not seen them live yet I cannot wait to cross them off of our concert bucket list as a member of the audience of Lollapalooza’s Discord stage. The tales of their concerts have me uber-excited to see the band and be part of their unique crowd experience.
Sunday
Sunday is one of the most anticipated days of Lollapalooza with the debut of J-Hope on the Bud Light Seltzer stage. The artist is set to make his first performance since the hiatus of BTS. Along with J-Hope are other notable acts like Goth Babe, The Marias, The Kid Lorai and more.
Claire Rosinkranz
Claire Rosinkranz has been making waves in pop music since breaking out in 2020 with her hit song ‘Backyard Boy.’ Her live set is incredible. I had the chance to see her earlier this year at The Music Hall of Williamsburg and she is a definite must see from the Lolla festival stage.
DJO
How could DJO not be on our must see list? With their highly-anticipated debut album ‘Change’ coming out this September it feels like a no brainer to be at the Bud Light Seltzer Stage on Sunday afternoon. The band fronted by Joe Keery from Stranger Things will be performing a set to remember. I saw Djo perform at Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta and it is a can’t miss.
Charli XCX
Charli XCX is a star. Her live sets are dynamic. She deserves a headline slot at the festival but fans are fortunate to see her on the Bud Light Seltzer stage during the early evening. Don’t miss the chance to see this international superstar.
