Feature

Contact: Michael Glen

(847) 563 0825
Michael.glen2@mohawkcollege.ca

From Riches to Rags, and Back to Riches: The Story of Lollapalooza

Chicago, Illinois Mar. 18, 2015 Each year, more than 160,000 excitable people
pack themselves into Grant Park for live music, dance and comedy. From the park, you
can hear the echoing sounds of loud guitars, drums and singing. You can see the beautiful
Chicago skyline of Willis Tower and John Hancock Building. The smells of hotdogs, ribs
and other assorted meats consume the nose. The venue is Lollapalooza, and the annual
festival has been a recurring force for Chicago since 2005 with no plans of slowing down.
Created by singer Perry Farrell in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band, Janes
Addiction, Lollapalooza quickly became a touring festival across North America,
showcasing musical acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T, and Morrissey. The emergence
of Grunge, Hip Hop and Alternative rock fueled the festival from 1992 to 1997. From
1992 to 1996, the festival was a financial success. Headliners such as Alice In Chains,
The Smashing Pumpkins, Beck and Soundgarden graced the stage everyday from late
June to mid August.
By 1997, the concept of Lollapalooza was getting stale. Ticket sales and
attendance dropped significantly and it seemed as if music fans over North America had
moved on. By 1998 the organizers of the festival declined to repeat the event and it
seemed to have died.
(-more-)

The resurrection of Lollapalooza began in 2 005 when Farrell decided to cut out
the tour and make the festival 3 days long in Chicago, Illinois. To Farrell, the festival idea
seemed like it could work. The increasingly popular Coachella and Bonnaroo were
financially successful and generated a lot of buzz.

Today, Lollapalooza is one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Hundreds
of thousands of people of different elk swarm Grant Park in August to hear live music
and eat local Chicago food.
Farrell has learned his lesson. One thing he learned from the success and decline
of the tour Lollapalooza is this: keep it fresh. His original idea of a touring
Grunge/Alternative rock became stale after five years. It was because of this that Farrell
implemented a no repeat performance: there will be no headliner twice a year. He has
also discovered that merging different genres into the same festival attracts a whole lot
(-more-)
more people.
As well as the merging of genres, Lollapalooza also merges generations. In 2012,
Black Sabbath performed on the same stage as young DJ, Avicii and last year, Nine Inch
Nails performed on the same stage as Vampire Weekend. Lollapalooza is a place where
young upstarts become legends, and legends return to claim their fame says Farrell. The
quote comes from Farrells experience watching the festival evolve for over 10 years. The
quote is proven with Lady Gaga, who in 2007, performed on a relatively small stage
during the early hours of the festival. Relatively unknown and without an official CD
released, she performed for less than 45 minutes. Fast forward to 2010, where Lady Gaga
was on the main Bud Light stage and a major selling point of the festival.

Lady Gagas Lollapalooza story shows the importance and honor of performing at
the festival. Lollapalooza gives exposure to talented musical acts who desperately need
(-more-)
the attention and publicity.
Last years line up consisted of headliners, Eminem, Outkast, and Kings of Leon.
Other notable performances were Skrillex, Arctic Monkeys, Lorde and Foster The
People. It was our best year since 2009 says Farrell with a big smile on his face. Farrell
has great reason to smile, the pre-sale tickets sold out in 5 minutes and the 3-day passes
(at $180) sold out instantaneously online. Not to mention, there were no controversies
and the weather was a consistent 80-90 degrees. The 2015 lineup will consist of an
additional five musical acts. But Farrell is mum about the 2015 lineup due to several
contract negotiations still in place.

What also must make Farrell smile is the ongoing expansion into South America.
In 2011, Santiago, Chile held the first annual Lollapalooza in OHiggins Park. Farrells
Janes Addiction, The National, The Killers, and Thirty Seconds To Mars performed to a
sold out show from April 2-5 2011. Much to Farrells and the organizers delight, the
festival was a great success, with Brazil and Argentina following suit and creating their
own version of Lollapalooza.
The future is bright for Lollapalooza; what was once a dying and decaying brand
has now turned into a prosperous venture that is a must see for every music fan. Farrell
plans on expanding to the Middle East, adding an event in Tel Aviv, Israel in the near
future.
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