Once again, some of the world’s most influential and groundbreaking artists transformed Grant Park, Chicago, into a four-day-long haven for music lovers at Lollapalooza. From July 31st to August 3rd, one of America’s biggest and, dare I say, most prominent festivals of the year delivered one of its biggest attendances yet: a staggering 400,000 attendees.
The festival started off strong with headliners Luke Combs and Tyler, the Creator. Having dropped out of Lollapalooza the year prior, Tyler was still able to deliver an impressively dynamic and vivid performance. The following day’s headliners were just as remarkable, with metal band Korn taking the Lollapalooza stage for the first time since 1997 and Olivia Rodrigo surprising her fans with a collaboration with American rock band Weezer. Bands RÜFÜS DU SOL and TWICE concluded Saturday evening, with TWICE breaking new ground as Lollapalooza’s first female K-pop group headliner. Finally, the festival concluded in remarkable fashion with strong performances from Sabrina Carpenter and A$AP Rocky.
All in all, this year’s Lolla was one of the most diverse to date and remains a cultural milestone for hundreds of thousands of music enthusiasts nationwide.
After a sudden cancellation of his headlining performance last year, Tyler, The Creator made his triumphant return at this year’s 2025 Lollapalooza, just after dropping his ninth studio album, DON’T TAP THE GLASS. Fortunately for them, the lucky Chicago crowd received an immediate taste of the new album, blended in with his already expansive setlist. DON’T TAP THE GLASS is one of Tyler’s most electric and spontaneous albums from the last decade, and his fans were pleasantly surprised to see that Tyler added tracks “Big Poe” and “Sugar On My Tongue” to the setlist. The setlist included songs across multiple albums, including DTTG, Chromakopia, Flower Boy, Igor, Goblin, and CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, giving listeners the perfect blend of bold, alternative hip-hop and psychedelic beats.
At the end of the day, what made Tyler’s performance especially significant was purely the vibe of it all. From the retro hip-hop fashion to his unconventional and electrifying delivery, everything about his performance radiated a type of timeless energy. From his most recent album to his Chromakopia tour, Tyler has been on an incredible run, and his Lollapalooza headliner only solidified this. With his daring, audacious aptitude in performing, Tyler was able to deliver one of the most iconic headlining performances this year.
Olivia Rodrigo had an incredible debut this year at Lollapalooza, gathering a crowd of 115,000 fans-the biggest in the festival’s history. Rightfully so, because the best way I could describe the performance would be purely raw and innovative. Her creative artistry, displayed through her frenetic, exaggerated video collage, made for an unforgettable intro; she perfectly captured that alternative, grungy vibe of her music. Everything about it was unforgettable, from the iconic purple butterfly to the clips of her tightrope-walking under an angelic, smoky spotlight. The transition from her intro sequence to the first song sounded effortless. However, at some points, I noticed that the order of the setlist didn’t exactly match; for example, the transition from “traitor” to “bad idea right?” seemed a little out of place. I will say, though, that the performance of “bad idea right?” itself was definitely one of my favorites from the setlist.
Towards the end of her performance, Rodrigo shocked the Chicago crowd with the appearance of Weezer, where they played “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So”: a sentimental touch, considering that Weezer was the first band she ever saw live. Needless to say, this headlining performance was nothing short of incredible, and Olivia Rodrigo proved why she’s one of the biggest artists of this generation.
In her second time headlining Lollapalooza, Sabrina Carpenter delivered a vibrant performance featuring songs from her hit album, Short n’ Sweet, her fifth studio album, emails i can’t send, and her latest single, “Manchild”. She brought out legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire to perform two of their most beloved tracks, “September” and “Let’s Groove,” generating an infectious energy from the crowd. The second half of her set featured many fan favorites, including “Nonsense,” “Espresso,” and “Juno.” Sabrina had playfully arrested three members of popular K-pop girl group TWICE during the police segment of “Juno.” This delighted fans of both artists and brought more attention to Sabrina’s performance. While I still enjoyed watching her performance, I felt that her performance was a tad basic, as it felt like just another show from her Short n’ Sweet tour, aside from her bringing out Earth, Wind, & Fire. Overall, Sabrina Carpenter’s Lollapalooza 2025 performance was, objectively, a huge success.
In their debut performance and first time headlining Lollapalooza Chicago, global K-pop sensation TWICE made history as the first K-pop girl group to headline the festival. They performed many of their most popular songs and the title tracks of many of their past albums, such as “What is Love,” “Talk That Talk,” “FANCY,” and many more. They also performed some other lesser-known, yet powerful tracks like “ICON,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “RIGHT HAND GIRL,” a song from their latest album THIS IS FOR. A highlight of their performance was when members Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung performed their rendition of “TAKEDOWN” from the viral Netflix movie K-Pop Demon Hunters, which garnered tremendous positive attention from fans and concert-goers. TWICE successfully delivered an energetic and memorable show for everyone who watched, whether it was from the barricade at the festival or, like us, streaming on YouTube.
Overall, this year’s Lollapalooza was a major success and had many memorable moments and exceptional headliners. As one of the biggest music festivals in America, it undoubtedly left every attendee with an unforgettable experience. From Tyler, the Creator’s highly anticipated performance to TWICE making Lollapalooza history, we believe that Lollapalooza had a great run this year, and we are excited to see what they bring next year.
