There was one artist on most everyone’s must-see list for the first day of Lollapalooza 2024: Chappell Roan. Fans, eager to stake a good spot, ran from the entrance gates at Chicago’s Grant Park to the main headline T-Mobile stage and camped out as early as noon to wait it out in the blazing sun for her set at 5 p.m. The anticipated draw was so huge that organizers switched Roan’s original slot at a smaller stage across the field with Kesha’s, who appeared to approve of the swap, sharing a snippet in her Instagram stories of her and some pals singing Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” following her own set. Beyond the sea of fans that packed Roan’s side of the park to headliner levels, several artists — including Megan Thee Stallion, Hozier, and Kesha — delivered great sets along with impassioned speeches this election year, with the Chicago-hosted Democratic National Convention just around the corner.
WWE Superstar Chappell Roan Headlines Without Actually Headlining
Chappell Roan didn’t outlast fellow pop hopefuls just to coast once her long-awaited album entered the Billboard Top 10. Dressed in a latex wrestling suit with leather cowboy fringe, she belted and gyrated her way through a set worthy of headliner status. A dozen bodybuilders pumped iron. Her drummer played inside an elevated boxing ring. Forget a “Femininomenon.” Forget “Got so close but then you lost it.” When thousands upon thousands of fans scream the words to every song, every ballad, even the new — still unreleased! — track “The Subway,” it’s irrefutable: Chappell Roan is a bona fide pop star who’s cemented her place in the canon. If other artists planned on having the biggest crowd of the weekend, well … good luck, babe! —N.C.
Megan Thee Stallion Advocates For Hotties’ Rights
Fresh off her performance at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ rally in Atlanta, Megan Thee Stallion dedicated some time during her headlining set to further twerk out the vote. “They was fake mad that I was popping it for Kamala, and I don’t think they heard what she said. Kamala said she wants a cease-fire. Kamala said she supports women’s rights,” Megan told the crowd during her chest-rattling, bass-buoyed set that included hits “Hiss,” “Thot Shit,” and “WAP.” She added she wasn’t giving her “latest twerk” but her “hardest twerk” for hotties to get to do what they want to do “when the fuck they want to do it,” before declaring “Hotties for Harris” to cheers from the packed crowd. While her Atlanta stump necessitated cleaner lyrics and her wearing a fitted pantsuit, at Lolla the Houston rapper cut loose for the concert crowd, taking a victory lap for her second headlining set (the first was in 2021) at the festival in a sparkly hot pink two-piece. She also got a surprise onstage visit from Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese. —A.L.
Hozier Sings of Peace and Calls for More
Setting aside the breakout single that propelled him to international success, Hozier established a live dynamic between his bandmates and the crowd that teetered on religious — not full-blown preacher, but rather a spiritual conduit-next-door. Tucked between the standard stomp-clap folk (“Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene,” “Dinner & Diatribes”) were euphoric songs that let his voice beckon, like “Francesca” or “Movement.” Hozier’s evolution over the past decade is one of gentleness and harmony, despite the vigor that catapults his blues rock. How fitting, then, for him to passionately speak about Ireland’s civil rights battles, the power of direct action, and the need for “a Palestine free from occupation.” Urging the crowd to contact their representatives about a cease-fire carried extra weight when it was cushioned by “Nina Cries Power” and, earlier, the live debut of “Nobody’s Soldier.” Hozier didn’t push religion, but he did speak to its core tenets in a way that made believers out of his fans. —N.C.
Kesha Takes Us on a Joyride
Whether it was P. Diddy (having the crowd chant the changed “Tik Tok” lyric of “wake up in the morning like fuck P. Diddy” three times) or taking J.D. Vance to task (“Can someone tell J.D. Vance he’s motherfucking corrupt?”), Kesha’s fiery set was all about calling out bullshit and embracing empowerment. She trolled the GOP’s childless cat lady trope, with her dancers wearing cat masks while she sang “Woman”; before “Blow,” she intro’d the song with Kamala Harris’ “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” sample. She also reflected on her first appearance at Lolla in 2009 on a small stage, saying she was terrified at the time, and adding that the 15 years following she felt judged. “It ripped me to fucking pieces,” she said. But that hate “made me into one powerful fucking motherfucker.” By the time she got to the penultimate song in her set, “Joyride,” the freedom she is finally able to celebrate was palpable. —A.L.
Tyla Rides a Tiger for Her Tygers
It felt like things couldn’t get hotter in the late afternoon sun by the time Tyla hit the stage, but her sizzling set proved that theory wrong. Dressed in a futuristic, metallic fit while at times appearing to ride a giant inflatable tiger that sat in the middle of the stage, the South African star performed a potent mix of R&B, amapiano, and pop. Tyla’s tygers, as she calls her fans, were treated to several songs from her self-titled debut album, including “Safer” and “ART,” while she and her dancers executed sultry choreography. “I’ve got something special for you guys,” she said, before mashing up Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” with her own “On and On.” Her set culminated with her smash “Water.” —A.L.
Fleshwater Lure Nineties Gothic Alt-Rock Into the Sunshine
A mid-aughts concoction of alt-rock hooks, FuseTV-tinted grunge, and lead singer Marisa Shirar’s sweltering vocal range, Massachusetts five-piece Fleshwater ignited Lollapalooza’s opening stretch with an hour of angst. Primarily performing from their 2022 debut, We’re Not Here To Be Loved, gruff cuts like “The Razor’s Apple” and “Kiss the Ladder” landed effortlessly live, with newer song “I’m Not Here” providing a much-needed breather. Live, singer-guitarist Anthony DiDio — who co-founded Fleshwater as a side project from his brooding metalcore band Vein.fm — couldn’t shake his heavier instincts, screaming and conducting a circle pit. Shirar multiplied that tone during highlight “Linda Claire” with sludgy hooks and tempo-warping breakdowns. “I bet you’d like if I was failing,” she sneered through her curls, “but thanks to you I’m just starting.” —N.C.
Blondshell Makes Her Lolla Debut
Catching Sabrina Teitelbaum, who performs under the moniker Blondshell, in the middle of the day felt a bit like sacrilege, when her slow-burning ragers about problematic love, troubling addictions, and full-on lust are the kinds of subjects that might keep one up ruminating all night. But her excitement at performing at her first Lollapalooza was contagious as she delivered crowd favorites “Kiss City,” “Tarmac,” and “Salad.” While she and her band’s set was one of the early ones booked at 1:50 p.m., she made a prescient observation of the crowd that would pack the field at Chappell Roan’s performance a couple of hours later, commenting on seeing a lot of “pink ponies” in the audience. —A.L.
All Eyes on Elyanna
Raised in Nazareth before immigrating to California at age 15, Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna decodes the diaspora through pop production, R&B, and electronica without softening its realism or depth. Singing primarily in Arabic while bandmates played oud and tabla baladi, she uncorked her debut album, Woledto, to woo a crowd sporting keffiyehs and watermelon-adorned attire. Elyanna’s elegant vocals and gossamer falsettos felt like extensions of her and her dancers’ pristine white, sequined bedlahs. After “All eyes on Palestine” flashed onscreen, Elyanna covered the 1982 Jeanette song “El Muchacho de los Ojos Triste,” eyes welling up, in honor of her abuela who “always sang this to welcome me home.” —N.C.
Flo Teach a Lesson in Girl Groups
Rule Number One of being a successful girl group is mastering the art of harmonizing. Rule Number Two is pulling off a vocal run without overshadowing each other. Friday evening, Flo taught by example. The London R&B trio took pride in extending the girl-group lineage with newer singles “Walk Like This” and “Caught Up,” while also spotlighting icons past with a covers medley of Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls, and Pussycat Dolls. From underrated tracks like “Summertime” to their Missy Elliott collab “Fly Girl,” Flo glowed onstage with a shared joy, thus checking off Rule Number Three: Have fun with your friends. —N.C.
Jungle Get Into the Groove
U.K. dance band Jungle set an instant groove as they played funk-infused tracks “Problemz,” “I’ve Been in Love,” and “Dominoes” off 2023’s Volcano. The group, known for its meticulously choreographed music videos, stripped down its visuals and allowed instrumentals and their harmonized vocals carried the set — though Jungle did reserve one groovy number to release beach balls into the crowd. The opening drum beat of “Back on 74” worked the crowd into a frenzy, as fans instinctively reenacted the viral dance inspired by the song and sang along to the chorus. They also took a drive down memory lane, with tracks “Heavy, California,” “I’ve Been in Love,” and “Casio.” —K.R.
Saint Levant Reps Homeland
Born to a French Algerian mother and Palestinian Serbian father, Saint Levant repped his heritage, draping a Palestinian flag across his shoulders as fans swung keffiyehs in the air. He sang about Palestinian activism and displacement, playing the saxophone on tracks including “From Gaza, With Love” and Deira’s “On This Land.” While he delivered multicultural songs in English, French, and Arabic, his heart was with his homeland. At one point, he stopped his performance to speak directly to fellow Palestinians in the audience: “The second there is a cease-fire, you go on that plane, you’re going back home,” he said. —K.R.
Labrinth Gets Euphoric
Labrinth, dressed in a black cloak and chunky jewelry, performed several tracks from the Euphoria score, which he composed in 2019, including the synth-heavy “Still Don’t Know My Name,” the moody ballad “Forever,” the bass-boosted track “When I R.I.P.,” and “All of Us.” Stunned by the turnout during his set, he paused to acknowledge the love, saying, “You guys have made my fucking day,” before resuming to dark-hued tracks of love and loneliness like “Beneath You’re Beautiful” and “Mount Everest.” —K.R.
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