is an
American Music Festival featuring
Alternative Rock ,
Rap , and
Punk Rock bands,
Dance and
Comedy performances, and
Craft booths. Organized in 1991 by
Perry Farrell , singer for the band
Jane's Addiction , Lollapalooza ran annually through til 1997, and was revived in 2003. The festival encapsulated American
Youth Culture for the 1990s much as
Woodstock did for the 1960s; '''''Lollapalooza Generation''''' is sometimes used as a synonym for
Generation X .
Perry Farrell conceived of the Lollapalooza festival in 1990 as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction. The name Lollapalooza means "something outstanding or unusual"; Farrell heard the word in a
Three Stooges short film and liked the sound.
Unlike previous music festivals such as
Woodstock or the
US Festival , which were one-time events held in one venue, Lollapalooza was a touring show—a modern-day
Chautauqua —that travelled across the United States and Canada. Instead of drawing music enthusiasts from around the country to one spot, Lollapalooza came to them -- bringing
West Coast and
East Coast underground culture to cities in the heartland. Because of this, many more people saw, and participated in, Lollapalooza than had been to any previous music festival. It was an important vehicle for disseminating the alternative music of the period.
The 1991 lineup was also daringly eclectic, drawing in headliners from
Rap such as
Ice-T as well as
Industrial Music such as
Nine Inch Nails . Crossing popular music's rigidly-drawn genre lines gave the festival an air of independence from corporate rock.
Another key concept behind Lollapalooza was the inclusion of non-musical features. Performers like the
Jim Rose Circus , an alternative freak show, or the
Shaolin Monks stretched the boundaries of traditional rock culture. There was a tent for display of art pieces,
Virtual Reality games, and information tables for political and environmental non-profit groups. Lollapalooza's charter was not just a super-star rock jam -- it was a cultural festival, albeit for the newly-formed 1990s counterculture.
After 1991, the festival included a second stage (and, in 1996, a third stage) for up-and-coming bands or local acts. It began a churning effect for alternative music -- as underground bands broke through to the mainstream, they drew listeners to Lollapalooza, who would then see the next generation of underground bands on the second stage. Many of the bands that played second stage at Lollapalooza later had more widespread commercial success.
The explosion of
Grunge Music in the early 1990s propelled Lollapalooza forward; the 1992 and 1993 festivals leaned heavily on grunge acts. Punk rock standbys like
Mosh Pit s and
Crowd Surfing became part of the canon of the concerts. These years saw great increases in the participatory nature of the event. Booths for open-microphone readings and oratory, television-smashing pits, jungle-gyms and group-musical pieces, and tattooing and piercing parlors made the event seem more like a county fair than a concert.
1994 was the high-water-mark of the grunge era and a year of tragedy for the Lollapalooza.
Nirvana , the
Aberdeen, Washington band that had kicked off grunge's breakthrough into mainstream music, was scheduled to headline the festival, but
Kurt Cobain declined the invitation. He would commit suicide shortly thereafter. (The
Smashing Pumpkins headlined instead.) Cobain's widow
Courtney Love made surprise guest appearances at several shows (usually taking time given to her by Pumpkins vocalist
Billy Corgan ), speaking to the crowds about the loss. Increased accidents and unruly fans at the shows were breaking down the feeling of community.
The final years of Lollapalooza saw the festival lose its focus. Farrell, who had been the soul of the festival, quit the organization to concentrate on his new festival project,
ENIT ; most of his financial interest was sold to the
William Morris Agency . Ideas and musical genres that had been edgy and risque at the beginning of the 1990s were now mainstream or passe. Many fans also saw the addition of
Metallica in 1996 as self-defeating in terms of featuring "non-mainstream" artists. Efforts were made to keep the festival relevant, such as including more eclectic acts such as
Country superstar
Waylon Jennings , and emphasizing more heavily
Electronica groups like
The Prodigy . By 1997, however, the Lollapalooza concept had run out of steam, and in 1998 failed efforts to find a headliner willing to do the show rang the deathknell for the festival tour.
In 2003, however, Farrell reconvened Jane's Addiction and scheduled a new tour. The festival schedule included venues in 30 cities through July and August. The 2003 tour achieved only marginal success with many fans staying away because of high ticket prices and heavy corporate sponsorship. Another tour scheduled for 2004 was canceled in June due to weak ticket sales across the country.
Farrell brought in
Capital Sports & Entertainment , which has managed the
Austin City Limits Music Festival , as a partner, while maintaining ownership of the Lollapalooza brand. Capital resurrected Lollapalooza as a two-day festival 2005 in
Grant Park ,
Chicago , with an even greater variety of performers (70 acts on five stages) than that of the touring festival. The festival was generally successful, attracting over 65,000 attendees, despite a 104 degree Sunday
Heat Wave .(Only 3 people were hospitialized for heat related illness.) It will return to Chicago from
August 4 -
6 ,
2006 .
''Main Stage'':
Jane's Addiction ,
Siouxsie & The Banshees ,
Living Colour ,
Nine Inch Nails ,
Ice T and his band
Body Count ,
Butthole Surfers ,
Rollins Band
''Main Stage'':
Red Hot Chili Peppers ,
Ministry ,
Ice Cube ,
Ice T ,
Soundgarden ,
The Jesus And Mary Chain ,
Pearl Jam ,
Lush ,
Temple Of The Dog
''Side Stage'':
Jim Rose Circus ,
Sharkbait ,
Archie Bell ,
Porno For Pyros ,
Basehead ,
Cypress Hill ,
House Of Pain ,
Sweaty Nipples ,
Arson Garden ,
Seaweed ,
Seam ,
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. ,
The Look People ,
Stone Temple Pilots ,
Vulgar Boatmen ,
Truly ,
Skrew ,
Tribe ,
The Authority ,
Samba Hell ,
Rage Against The Machine ,
Chris Cornell And Eddie Vedder
''Main Stage'':
Primus ,
Alice In Chains ,
Dinosaur Jr. ,
Fishbone ,
Arrested Development ,
Front 242 ,
Babes In Toyland ,
Tool ,
Rage Against The Machine ,
''Side Stage'':
Sebadoh ,
Cell ,
Unrest ,
Mercury Rev ,
Mosquito ,
Free Kitten ,
Royal Trux ,
Tsunami ,
Mutabaruka ,
The Coctails ,
Scrawl ,
Luscious Jackson ,
Genitorturers ,
Truly ,
Eggs ,
Girls Against Boys ,
Thurston Moore ,
Glue ,
Karl Hendrick's Trio ,
Hurl
''Main Stage'':
Smashing Pumpkins ,
Beastie Boys ,
George Clinton & The P.Funk All-Stars ,
The Breeders ,
A Tribe Called Quest ,
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds ,
L7 ,
Boredoms (first half of tour),
Green Day (second half)
''Side Stage'':
The Flaming Lips ,
The Verve ,
The Boo Radleys ,
The Frogs ,
Guided By Voices ,
Lambchop ,
Girls Against Boys ,
Rollerskate Skinny ,
Palace Songs ,
Stereolab ,
FU-Schnickens ,
The Pharcyde ,
Shudder To Think ,
Luscious Jackson ,
King Kong ,
Charlie Hunter Trio ,
Shonen Knife ,
Blast Off Country Style ,
Souls Of Mischief ,
Cypress Hill ,
Black Crowes
Several of the artists, including
Green Day and
Cypress Hill , skipped at least one Lollapalooza tour date in order to appear at
Woodstock '94 instead.
''Main Stage'':
Sonic Youth ,
Hole ,
Cypress Hill ,
Pavement ,
Sinéad O'Connor (first few shows; bowed out due to pregnancy),
Elastica (replaced O'Connor, as did
Moby for a few shows),
Beck ,
The Jesus Lizard ,
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
''Side Stage'':
Coolio ,
Doo Rag ,
Possum Dixon ,
Poster Children ,
Yo La Tengo ,
Brainiac ,
The Coctails ,
The Geraldine Fibbers ,
The Dambuilders ,
Laika ,
The Pharcyde ,
Tuscadero ,
Built To Spill ,
Helium ,
Redman ,
St. Johnny ,
Dirty Three ,
Mike Watt ,
Versus ,
Hum ,
Blonde Redhead ,
The Roots ,
Blowhole ,
The Zeros ,
Pork Queen ,
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments ,
Sabalon Glitz ,
Psychotica ,
Patti Smith ,
Overpass ,
Moby ,
Superchunk ,
Beck (acoustic, generally)
''Main Stage'':
Metallica ,
Soundgarden ,
Cocteau Twins ,
Waylon Jennings ,
Cheap Trick ,
Violent Femmes ,
The Tea Party ,
Wu Tang Clan ,
Rage Against The Machine ,
Steve Earle ,
Devo ,
The Ramones ,
Rancid ,
Shaolin Monks ,
Screaming Trees ,
Psychotica
''Side Stage'':
Beth Hart Band ,
Girls Against Boys ,
Ben Folds Five ,
Ruby ,
Cornershop ,
You Am I ,
Soul Coughing ,
Sponge ,
The Melvins ,
Satchel ,
Jonny Polonsky ,
Fireside
''Indie Stage'':
Chune ,
Moonshake ,
Lutefisk ,
Capsize 7 ,
The Cows ,
Long Fin Killie ,
Thirty Ought Six ,
Varnaline ,
Crumb
''Main Stage'':
Orbital ,
Devo ,
The Prodigy ,
The Orb ,
Tool ,
Snoop Doggy Dogg ,
Tricky ,
KoЯn ,
James ,
Julian and
Damian Marley and the Uprising Band,
Eels ,
Failure
''Side Stage'':
Summercamp ,
Artificial Joy Club ,
Jeremy Toback ,
Radish ,
Old 97's ,
Inch ,
Porno For Pyros ,
The Pugs ,
Lost Boyz ,
Agnes Gooch ,
Demolition Dollrods ,
Skeleton Key ,
Molly McGuire ,
Orbit
''Main Stage'':
Jane's Addiction ,
Audioslave ,
Incubus ,
Queens Of The Stone Age (7/5-8/13),
A Perfect Circle (8/15-8/23),
Jurassic 5 ,
The Donnas ,
The Distillers ,
Rooney
''Side Stage'':
Steve-O ,
Burning Brides ,
Cave In ,
Kings Of Leon ,
Hierosonic ,
30 Seconds To Mars ,
The Music ,
Mooney Suzuki ,
Fingertight ,
MC Supernatural ,
Boysetsfire ,
Billy Talent ,
Campfire Girls
This tour was cancelled due to low ticket sales; the following acts were scheduled:
Morrissey ,
PJ Harvey ,
Sonic Youth ,
The Killers ,
The Flaming Lips ,
The Von Bondies ,
String Cheese Incident ,
Modest Mouse ,
Le Tigre ,
Gomez ,
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ,
Danger Mouse ,
Polyphonic Spree ,
Broken Social Scene ,
The Datsuns ,
Bumblebeez 81 ,
The Secret Machines ,
The Thrills ,
Sound Tribe Sector 9 ,
Elbow ,
Wheat ,
The Coup ,
Wolf Eyes
Location:
Grant Park ,
Chicago
''SBC West Stage''
Saturday:
Weezer ,
Primus ,
Cake ,
Liz Phair ,
M83
Sunday:
Widespread Panic ,
Drive-By Truckers ,
Dinosaur Jr. ,
The Ponys .
''SBC East Stage''
Saturday:
Pixies ,
Billy Idol ,
Dashboard Confessional ,
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead ,
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Sunday:
The Killers ,
The Arcade Fire , Satellite Party,
Kasabian ,
OK Go .
''Budweiser Select Stage''
Saturday:
Digable Planets ,
The Black Keys ,
The Bravery ,
Kaiser Chiefs ,
The Warlocks
Sunday:
Death Cab For Cutie ,
Spoon ,
Ben Kweller ,
Louis XIV ,
Saul Williams .
''Parkways Stage''
Saturday:
The Walkmen ,
Blonde Redhead ,
Brian Jonestown Massacre ,
Ambulance LTD ,
The Redwalls
Sunday:
The Dandy Warhols ,
G Love & Special Sauce ,
Tegan And Sara ,
Blue Merle ,
The Changes .
''Planet Stage''
Saturday:
Mark Farina ,
Z-Trip , B-Boy Breakdown Royale,
Mash Up Circus,
DJ Muggs ,
VHS Or Beta ,
The Dead 60's ,
Hard-Fi
Sunday: Derrick Carter,
Sound Tribe Sector 9 ,
Soulive ,
Los Amigos Invisibles , DeSol,
Cathedrals .
''Kidapalooza''
Saturday: Gwendolyn & the Good Time Gang, Daddy a Go Go,
The Candy Band , Peter Distefano and
Perry Farrell
Sunday:
The Candy Band , Gwendolyn & the Good Time Gang,
Saul Williams and Ladybug of
Digable Planets (performing an impromptu set), Daddy a Go Go,
Ella Jenkins .
Location: Grant Park, Chicago
Dates: August 4-6
Red Hot Chili Peppers ,
Kanye West ,
Manu Chao ,
Wilco ,
Death Cab For Cutie ,
The Raconteurs ,
The Flaming Lips ,
Ween ,
Queens Of The Stone Age ,
The Shins ,
Common ,
Matisyahu ,
Ryan Adams ,
Umphrey's McGee ,
Sonic Youth ,
Thievery Corporation ,
Sleater-Kinney ,
Nickel Creek ,
Blues Traveler ,
Broken Social Scene ,
The New Pornographers ,
Iron & Wine ,
Poi Dog Pondering ,
The Secret Machines ,
Eels ,
Panic! At The Disco ,
The Disco Biscuits ,
The Dresden Dolls ,
She Wants Revenge ,
Reverend Horton Heat ,
Smoking Popes ,
Andrew Bird ,
Gnarls Barkley ,
Stars ,
Cursive ,
Blackalicious ,
Editors ,
Lyrics Born ,
Lady Sovereign ,
Hard-Fi ,
Calexico ,
Nada Surf ,
Feist ,
Aqualung ,
The Frames ,
The Hold Steady ,
The Go! Team ,
Mates Of State ,
Pepper ,
Particle ,
The Redwalls ,
Mute Math ,
Wolfmother ,
Sparta ,
The Subways ,
Of Montreal ,
Blue October ,
Jeremy Enigk ,
Built To Spill ,
Living Things ,
Sound Team ,
The M's ,
Hot Chip ,
The Rapture ,
The Benevento-Russo Duo ,
Matt Costa ,
The New Amsterdams ,
Deadboy & The Elephantmen ,
Sybris ,
Anathallo ,
The Burden Brothers ,
What Made Milwaukee Famous ,
Manishevitz ,
Husky Rescue ,
The Towers Of London ,
Ohmega Watts ,
Boy Kill Boy ,
Jim Noir ,
The Standard ,
Be Your Own Pet ,
Elvis Perkins ,
Trevor Hall ,
Midlake ,
Katie Todd Band ,
Cameron McGill & What Army ,
Lanz ,
30 Seconds To Mars ,
''Kidzapalooza''
Justin Roberts ,
Ella Jenkins ,
Q Brothers ,
The Candy Band ,
Peter DiStefano
more to come. This leaves room for approximately 50 more bands on the lineup. In total, there will be 130 bands which are all confirmed. Eight stages will be setup.
In a 1996 episode of ''
The Simpsons '' called ''
Homerpalooza '', Homer takes Bart and Lisa to an alternative music festival called ''Hullabalooza''. It includes
Cypress Hill ,
Peter Frampton ,
The Smashing Pumpkins and
Sonic Youth .
In a fourth season episode of ''
South Park '' called "
Timmy 2000 ", Timmy joins the band "Lords of the Underworld" and ends up being a main act in the "Lalapalalapaza" festival. The name of the festival gets more and more exaggerated and elongated to the point of gibberish.
Rock parodist
"Weird Al" Yankovic titled his 1993 album ''
Alapalooza '', but the cover and other album elements were based less on the concert tour and more on the movie poster for ''
Jurassic Park ''.
In the
Daria episode, "Road Worrier", Daria, Jane, Trent and his friend Jesse are on their way to "Alternapalooza", where Trent and Jesse plan to perform. They never get there, though.
