Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2014
Lollapalooza Music Festival
Grant Park
Chicago, Illinois
August 1-3, 2014
The reviews of the 2014 edition of the Midwest’s largest music festival, Lollapalooza, are still coming in. The mainstream media has offered polite and generally positive assessments. However, there has been a percolating question, “Has Lollapalooza lost its way?”. With 8 stages, over 150 acts and roughly 300,000 attendees, this festival has become a juggernaut of diversity in talent and experience that goes hand-in-hand with an overindulgent venture. Across the media one will find, “Outcast returned with “Hey, Ya” in excellent step”, “Eminem brought out Rihanna briefly”, “Kate Nash wore platform sneakers”, “Chance the Rapper went toe to toe with Kings of Leon” and “Iggy Azalea comes hard”. Those summaries are some of the highlights being toted. It’s hard to compete with this type of PR hype that surrounds this multi-faceted experience.
One can see that the festival is NOT what it was at inception in the early 1990s, a platform for edgy new music full of freaks, geeks, and those that felt marginalized. Yes, this past weekend, one encountered snippets of excellence (Eminem) and those that didn’t find their groove (Rich Homie Quan), however like other popular culture showcases, Lolla today felt like one big money grab. Scalpers were trolling Michigan Avenue selling 1-day tickets for over $400 a piece, there was the exclusive VIP sections, and lets not mention the cost of the festival’s eat and drinks. Ouch!
Yes, it’s important to evolve with the times. Perry Farrell & Co. have certainly excelled at refining America’s severe capitalist machine. Yet, this pluralist monetary centered approach appeared scatter-shot in terms of music quality and consistency, and at times, diluted many of the less familiar quality acts (Courtney Barnett, Cage the Elephant and Lorde). On more than one occasion, I’ve heard (and read) that this is the perfect festival for what many are calling the “Lost” generation (Do you find this descriptive tag offensive?). One set in the perfect city park, offering the widest arrangement of artists, and even creating a place for toddlers! yeah…
In 2012, WBEZ 91.5 released the news that the Chicago Parks District had agreed to a new 10 year (possibly eternal) contract that extends the Lolla run to 2021. Whether or not Lolla has lost its way, it’s certainly not going anywhere soon. Someone is going to make a fortune, but at whose expense?
Review by Chester Alamo-Costello
