The 28th annual Lollapalooza music festival returns, a multi-day festival whose headliners included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Metallica, and Pearl Jam, is 10 days away. Grant Park in Chicago, where the festival is historically held, will have no festival-goers this year. Instead, Lollapalooza is virtual this year, following a trend a few other festivals set this year, as the novel coronavirus outbreak canceled festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals.
On Tuesday, June 9, staff announced online that Lollapalooza’s in-person festival was canceled and would be held virtually instead. This came on the same day that the city of Chicago announced all major events in the city through Labor Day were canceled.
“We wish we could bring Lollapalooza to Grant Park again this year, but we understand why things can’t move forward as planned,” a statement posted to the Lollapalooza social media outlets stated. “The health and safety of our fans, artists, partners, staff, and community is always our highest priority.”
The statement added they are planning to “deliver Chicago a spectacular celebration of Lollapalooza’s 30th Anniversary in the summer of 2021, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you.”
The virtual party is Thursday, July 30, to Sunday, Aug. 2. A full lineup is expected to be announced in July but was not public as of Sunday, July 19.
The 2019 lineup included Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Twenty One Pilots, The Strokes, Flume, the Chainsmoekers, Lil Wayne, Janelle Monae, Death Cab for Cutie, Hozier, Meek Mill, Tenacious D, and 21 Savage, among many, many others.
Ticket information for the virtual festival is also yet to be announced, according to the website, but children ages 10 and younger can participate for free with an adult who has a ticket.
Lollapalooza promised festival-goers 40 new performances from artists throughout the world, never-before-seen footage from the 1990s, and archival sets from festivals in Chicago and from their international festivals.
Founded in 1991 by Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza, and has included 170 performances in each festival.
In addition to the annual Chicago festival, Lollapalooza is held in Santiago, Chile, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Berlin, Germany, Stockholm, Sweden, Paris, France, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
This year, the festival is also partnering with non-profit organizations, and the festival will include discussion on music, social justice, voting, and activism, among other issues, according to the Lollapalooza website.
About 400,000 people attended the Grant Park festival in 2019, according to information from the Chicago Tribune.
For more details about virtual Lollapalooza, see the website, lollapalooza.com, and sign up for the E-List for updates.