Lollapalooza 2025: A Guide From A Chicago Native

By Sylvia Eastman

SYLVIA EASTMAN / UP Blog Writer

Every summer during the first weekend of August, suburbanites of all ages pack into the Chicago Metra line to travel into the city and experience live music of all genres along the shores of Lake Michigan in Grant Park. Lollapalooza, or “Lolla” as suburban teenagers have dubbed it, attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year, as it is simply Chicago’s event of the summer.

Chicago hosts many music festivals throughout the year, including Windy City Smokeout, Summer Smash, Beyond Wonderland, Riot Fest and more. But with 2025 setting a record time for sold-out tickets, Lollapalooza continues to remain the most popular. This year, the festival is expecting an attendance of around 115,000 people each day—the maximum daily capacity within the festival gates.

Lollapalooza was originally founded in 1991 by Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane’s Addiction, while searching for a venue for the band’s farewell tour. He named the festival “Lollapalooza” after hearing the word in a Three Stooges film. He understood the word to describe something impressive and extraordinary—perfectly fitting the energy the festival radiates.

The most important thing to think about when planning your Lollapalooza weekend is deciding how many days to go. Whether a four-day pass or a single GA pass on Thursday before heading up to Lake Geneva or Michigan for the rest of the weekend is the move, you’ll need to know a few things before you go:

Sylvia Eastman / UP Blog Writer

Make sure you wear comfortable shoes that can get trashed. This is the perfect occasion for your frat/bar shoes outside of college nightlife. Be ready to walk and stand all day—and just know there’s no chance of getting an Uber or taxi back to Ogilvie or Union Station after the headliner performance at night.

Stay hydrated and drink plenty of Liquid Death unless you want to end up at the med tent. Getting a hydropack isn’t completely necessary, but it’s a good idea if you’re going all four days. Even though you’ll be seeing some superstars, you don’t want to get dehydrated and start seeing literal stars.

Figure out a plan for which artists you want to see and what stages they’re performing on. There are performances from over 170 artists each year across eight stages (all named after Perry Farrell and the festival’s sponsors), so it’s necessary to follow Lollapalooza updates on social media to see posted set times and stage info.

This is also the perfect occasion to experiment with your style. Try out different outfits and hairdos—there will be people rocking all kinds of aesthetics throughout the weekend.