Lollapalooza

What can I say about Lollapalooza that hasn’t already been said? I have attended dozens of different festivals in the past few years, all quite special in their own right. Some of these experiences have been better than others, but what really makes one festival better than another? The experience one has during these kinds of events can vary wildly… A combination of the setting, quality of the lineup, the people around you and the smoothness of the festival logistics seem to dictate the level of enjoyment attendees can reach. Well, according to this combination Lollapalooza is simply the best festival I have had the pleasure of attending (tied with or followed closely by Bonnaroo)

The Setting: Lollapalooza takes place in Grant Park, Chicago’s front yard. Cradled tenderly in between the gorgeously jagged skyline and the fresh blue water of Lake Michigan (the great lakes account for 80% of the world’s fresh water), I really cannot think of a better setting for a music festival. As far as city festivals go, I implore you to show me one with a better backdrop than beautiful summertime Chicago

The Lineup: This one speaks for itself. Check out all of the acts that graced lolla 2012 here. I really enjoy mixed-bag festivals more than genre specific ones. I like that there is something for everyone to enjoy in a carefully chosen lineup like this one. Variety is the spice of…. well, you know.

The crowd: I LOVE the Lollapalooza crowd. I’d say its mostly local (obviously) which is good cause midwesterners make for a conscientious, fun crowd. Also, alot of these kids probably don’t travel as much for festivals as someone like myself does, so when the Chi-town summer fests come around, they’re ready to go all out and have a great time! I also like that I don’t see too many burned out festies at this one. I’m sure they’re there, but the vastness of Lollapalooza (270,000 in attendance this year) hides them well. Family friendly is my favorite kind of fest. I love to see kids having as much fun as I am. It gives me a kind of “all for one” feeling, like we’re all in this together. Lolla crowd is simply top notch. A favorite moment of mine was leaving the fest on saturday night… All of the crowd spilling onto the street began chanting; first, cheers that reverberated throughout blocks and blocks of city streets, then everyone shouted “USA! USA! USA!” for a few minutes straight… I’m getting chills just thinking about it 🙂

The Festival Production, Admin C3 Presents are 100% professionals. They run this HUGE festival like a well oiled machine. An example: One of the only wrenches in this Lolla was an epic deluge in the middle of the second day. This storm was straight up dangerous. C3 made the difficult choice of evacuating the entire festival grounds when they got word that the storm was on the way. They handled it so well, and in light of some recent tragedies at festivals, there really just wasn’t any other choice. Even more impressive: They pulled it together quickly enough to allow people back in after the storm! Festival goers were still able to get a decent day of music in. I applaud C3 for the way they handled this. Pro’s in and out.

What an epic year of Lolla this was. I hope you enjoy the photoset below. I covered the event in conjunction with Ourvinyl.com, so check with them soon for a full review of the festival.