CHICAGO — Bracing the humidity and heat racing around Chicago’s esteemed Grant Park, plopped in the heart of the city draped with Chi-Town’s gorgeous skyline, this year’s Lollapalooza ushered in the arrival of a new era of stars.
Despite Tyler, The Creator, Tommy Richman and Dominic Fike pulling out of their performances due to scheduling issues and health reasons, among other things, this year’s outing at Lollapalooza had a different air surrounding it—highlighting music’s pop girl takeover this summer. With Chappell Roan congregating a headlining-type crowd for her 5 p.m. Thursday set (the largest daytime show in Lolla history), Future and Metro setting the stage ablaze with WDTY hits, and Teezo Touchdown smelling the roses with a sea of “STRANGERS” chanting his name, Lollapalooza fully lived up to expectations across the board.
Highlighting performances from OGM favorites in d4vd, Veeze, Sexyy Red, a Saturday finale set from Future and Metro Boomin (who just kicked off their ‘We Don’t Trust You’ tour), Lollapalooza 2024 proved to be the festival’s most interesting, experimental and versatile lineup yet.
All photos courtesy of Danny Pleckham
Day 1
Opening day was light on hip-hop adjacent talent, but d4vd, Tyla and Megan Thee Stallion (who performed in place of Tyler, The Creator’s headlining bout) brought Chicago to a craze. It was apparent fans traveled for the real star of the show, Chappell Roan (“Hot To Go,” “Pink Pony Club”), who packed out the entire field of T-Mobile’s sectioned grassland. Angel Reese made a cameo during Megan Thee Stallion’s set, which brought Chicago together for a full circle moment. Dive into our Day 1 gallery below and an interview with d4vd.
d4vd
A world tour with SZA, six headlining solo mini-treks and a pair of EPs have shot d4vd to pop superstardom in just one year’s time. The last time I spoke with the Houston teen phenom was nearly one year ago to the date—and wow, have things changed.
Catching up with d4vd on-site (with the last visual I had of him being over Zoom sitting outside of sister’s closet labeled “studio)” the singer spoke on touring with SZA, which he says was a “blessing” and “learning experience” in every regard, scrapping his previously-teased project WITHERING and giving insight into finding himself as an artist. d4vd is still on the search, like most artists, to find their sound.
“I scrapped that my boy,” he said with a smirk. “You mentioned if I found myself as an artist, ‘NOPE.’ I’m making a [new album] right now and the themes are coming together and the art is kind of showing itself to me. I don’t like pushing an agenda on myself or forcing an idea and then have to be stuck with that for the rest of the project. So right now, I’m just making songs and making it cohesive. That’s exactly how ‘Petals To Thorns‘ came to be, how ‘The Lost Petals‘ came to be. Just sticking to the formula.”
Performing a 3:45 set at Tito’s Stage, d4vd has clearly built a fanbase that sees past the virality of “Romantic Homicide.” Performing old cuts like my personal favorite “Fly Away,” “Sleep Well,” “WORTHLESS,” “Don’t Forget About Me” and more, the raw talent d4vd possesses is uncanny, backflipping throughout live-drum breakdowns and shredded guitar licks sprinting across the stage. No backing track, live vocals, a live band, and a Lollapalooza set for the ages (all at just 19-years-old) is just another iconic moment in a long list of them for the still star-building d4vd—well on his way to becoming an undeniable alt-voice of a generation.
Day 2
Sets from Veeze, Kevin Abstract and Sexyy Red caught our eyes on a sizzling Friday afternoon. Peep the gallery below.
Day 3
Anticipation builds as murmurs of Future and Metro Boomin’s “special guests” swirl around the Lollapalooza grounds at Grant Park. Unfortunately, the rumored Drake, Ye and Travis Scott did not appear on stage with the WDTY duo, but Metro and Future were trustworthy of a cinematic headlining set Saturday night. Peep our full gallery below!
2hollis
“crush” and “trauma” are just the beginning of a tear for 2hollis, as the boy himself fluttered Perry’s with his signature, EDM-tethered sound. With long, bleached blonde hair dealing over an all black-fit, Hollis, who’s currently on tour with Ken Carson, not only made new fans within the confines of a midday set, but continued to gain confidence as a performer. Jumping, dancing and yelling “GO!” (seemingly taking a few performances pointers from Ken Carson), the Chicago native was in a constant state of fluid motion in his hometown—never stopping for a break and bringing the house down with him.
Future & Metro Boomin
A delayed start caused a nasty case of a restless crowd Saturday night. Although Future and Metro Boomin showed up over an hour early to their set, they arrived to stage set-up issues, bickering crewmates and even a brawl on the catwalk that saw the crowd crown a people’s champ in one of the Lolla crew members. Regardless of its late start, the We Don’t Trust You tandem showed their “SUPERHERO” swagger at Bud Light, performing classics like “F*ck Up Some Commas,” “Mask Off” as well as their viral-charting single “Like That,” “Cinderella” and “Type Shit.” On the road for their “We Don’t Trust You” tour—which kicked off in St. Louis in late-July—Future and Metro did it big, to the point of their headlining set at Bud Light being constructed as a pure spectacle. Between panning lights, ceaseless enflaming pyro and an energy unbeknownst to those who haven’t seen the aura the We Still Don’t Trust You collaborators behold, Metro and Future had Chicago eating out of the palm of their hand. Stay tuned for MIXTAPE PLUTO.
Day 4
Back-to-back sets from Teezo Touchdown and Vince Staples packed our sweltering Sunday afternoon. Peep the gallery below and a quick recap of our time with Teezo Touchdown at Lollapalooza.
Teezo Touchdown
The third time Teezo Touchdown and I crossed paths happened on the back of a golf cart at Tito’s Sunday afternoon. Probably the hottest day of all four this year’s Lolla outing had to offer, the Beaumont, Texas native was in good spirits (as always) when it comes to dealing with media and fans. One thing about Teezo is that he’s a people person at his core — grateful for all that he’s accomplished and knowing that it’s because of those who support him.
It isn’t lost on him that the fans made his dreams come true, referring to them as his “friends” in our 15 minute chat backstage. “A message to my friends is to believe in yourself, be nice to yourself, and once you do that, share that love with someone else, whether that be another friend or a stranger,” he said to me after his set, relaying his sentiment into his performance ten-fold.
Donning neon yellow Adidas goalkeeper gloves with an equally-drippy Adidas tank and shorts to match, Teezo (whose trademark nails are not tied in his dreads today) wears a wig cap and shades clutching his signature bouquet mic in his left hand. He’s gleaming with sweat. The heat index topped out at over 90 degrees today. However, Teezo is as cool as they come.
Off the back of a worldwide UTOPIA tour with Travis Scott, his debut album How Do You Sleep At Night? and now set to trek with Don Toliver on his Hardstone Psycho tour, his performance was a full circle moment since first appearing at Lollapalooza back in 2022. He’s picked up a thing or two after going through the mainstream gauntlet of touring, interviews and red carpets. So this, to me at least, was a reintroduction to those who hadn’t caught his wave during his “Rid The Mid” campaign and “Social Cues” era. And Teezo killed it.
From HDYSAN? cuts like “STRANGER,” “IMPOSSIBLE,” “SWEET” “Who Would’ve Thought,” “Third Coast” and more energizing the crowd (as I oft-spot fans singing every song word for word in the front row), Teezo took a moment in between each track to address the crowd. He would tell a story, unleash a thought, or simply let his fans know how appreciative he is of them. At one point, he stops to take a breath in pure awe of the crowd, mouthing “wow” like he truly can’t believe how far he’s come. It’s these genuine moments that make Teezo so likable, so endearing and so much fun to follow.
His performances are always engaging, animated and heartfelt, but for a 3 p.m. Tito’s stage set — where the stage is arguably the most barebones of the entire fest — he made the absolute MOST out of a rather unideal placement. Once “Social Cues” blared throughout the stage’s speakers, Day 1 fans rejoiced. But to Teezo, Day 1 fans are everywhere. “This could be your first day finding out who I am,” he said on the mic. “So to me, you’re a day one fan. You’re all my day ones.” You’ll never be a “STRANGER” at a Teezo Touchdown show. You’re a friend.