Lollapalooza has revealed its 2025 lineup, with Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Sabrina Carpenter, and RÜFÜS DU SOL serving because the competition’s large 4 headliners. It’s the primary time in Lolla’s historical past {that a} rock band of some type isn’t headlining.
If something, the “rock” headliner is Olivia Rodrigo this 12 months, whose occasionally-feisty catalogue is impressed by the plethora of bands who’ve closed out Lollapalooza levels in years prior: Rage Towards the Machine, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, 9 Inch Nails. However as simple as Rodrigo is, her title feels much less like a deal with for Chicago’s rock crowd and extra like an applicable companion to acts like Gracie Abrams, TWICE, and fellow headliner Sabrina Carpenter.
This appears to be the largest takeaway of the competition’s twenty ninth version, which matches down in Grant Park from July thirty first to August third. The competition has progressively shed its rock-tinged layers in favor of digital music, hip-hop, and primarily, pop (and alt-pop, for what it’s value). That is neither an excellent factor or a foul factor, as Lollapalooza can solely afford to scale in the direction of no matter is most modern and can carry the best share of attendees. However for a sure festival-goer, this lineup represents that eventual altering of the guard with regards to rock bands at multi-genre occasions like Lolla.
Don’t get me flawed: there are positively some rock bands on this lineup. There are some good ones, too: Chicago’s personal Ratboys are hidden throughout the undercard (maybe with some new music?), they’ve lastly booked the whirlwind Japanese punks Otoboke Beaver, and there’re loads of rising rock acts which might be value attending to Grant Park at 2:00 p.m. for, like Wunderhorse, NewDad, La Femme, Julie, and Woman Tones.
However as welcome as these teams are on the lineup, they aren’t precisely unified beneath the larger-font rock names, which are actually simply Korn and Cage the Elephant this 12 months. The latter’s billing outdoors the highest line is definitely a little bit of a shock, particularly contemplating the collection of alt-rock radio acts which have a large overlap with Cage’s fanbase (Wallows, Flipturn, Foster the Individuals). With their 2024 comeback album, Cage the Elephant have as soon as once more reaffirmed their standing as one of many greatest various rock teams round, interval. And but, they’ve been out-billed by Korn, who’re roughly on the lineup as a novelty act.
That’s to not say Korn doesn’t have a fantastic output or wouldn’t completely rip it at sunset in Chicago, however it’s such a random nod to the now-reappraised nu-metal scene that they appear unusual on the poster. I’d nearly anticipate them to be paired with the brand new iteration of Linkin Park, who’ve just about solely opted for the Danny Wimmer Presents fests like Sonic Temple and Welcome to Rockville as an alternative of something placed on by C3 Presents or Goldenvoice/AEG.
In truth, it’s those self same DWP festivals which might be boasting the lions share of lively rock bands in 2025, which could clarify why fests like Lolla and Coachella aren’t bending over backwards for them. Beforehand, the acts that will play, say, Florida’s Welcome to Rockville had been the harder-edged teams you’d see at Mayhem, Ozzfest, or Warped Tour. This 12 months, they’ve received Inexperienced Day, Incubus, Jimmy Eat World, Chic, Taking Again Sunday, and the aforementioned Linkin Park — all of which may justifiably accompany Korn’s “nostalgia rock” place on Lolla’s 2025 lineup, however are as an alternative now grouped into DWP’s extra basic “exhausting rock” scene that’s fully impartial from the opposite multi-genre fests.
