Festival juggernaut Lollapalooza is returning to Chicago’s Grant Park on July 31-August 3rd for four jam-packed days of music. The top of the bill features plenty to like no matter your musical interest, whether you’re into pop, hip-hop, country, metal, or electronic. But dig more into the deep undercard and you’ll find an array of intriguing rising acts, from international artists making inroads in the U.S. to up-and-coming rockers who wouldn’t have been out of place on a lineup from Lollapalooza’s touring festival years mainly in the ’90s. Here are five lesser-known acts and five bigger names you should check out:
The Rising Acts
Wunderhorse
Sunday (8/3), 2 p.m., Tito’s Stage
With driving guitar riffs and emphatic vocals, Wunderhorse are carrying the torch for alt rock with a style that vibes with Lollapalooza’s earliest days. The English rockers have been honing their live show on the summer festival circuit, with stops at European festival heavy hitters like Glastonbury and Rock Werchter already under their belt. Lead singer Jacob Slater proves an evocative storyteller, weaving emotional threads with his sonorous croon on standout tracks like “Teal” and “Midas.”
Katseye
Sunday (8/3), 3:15 p.m., T-Mobile Stage
This global pop group was brought together through the reality competition Dream Academy (and later featured in the captivating Netflix documentary Pop Star Academy: Katseye). The competition and documentary depicted how an international group of aspiring performers coalesced in part with South Korean/K-pop training ideals that produced the likes of BTS. The result? Katseye’s vibrant pop production and catchy harmonies on cuts like “Touch” and “Debut” recall the heyday of pop groups and pop stars from the late ’90s and early ’00s.
Otoboke Beaver
Friday (8/1), 2:30 p.m., Bud Light Stage
Blitzing guitar riffs, shouted gang vocals, slamming drum beats: Otoboke Beaver will bring their punk ferocity to Grant Park all the way from Japan. The Kyoto outfit shred on blistering cuts like “Don’t light my fire” and “Love is Short.” Count Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl a fan. In an interview with Vulture, he spotlighted Otoboke Beaver as a vanguard of modern rock: “It’ll blow your mind, dude.”
Winyah
Friday (8/1), 1 p.m., BMI Stage
There’s a certain type of breezy indie rock that makes for perfect listening during an early afternoon set at a summer music festival. South Carolina rockers Winyah fit the bill, with their 2025 album Lot To Learn poised to power their set. The record’s title track is a jaunty earworm, while “Feel It All Again” is a cut of pure summer bliss led by its nostalgic vocals and standout guitar riffs.
Joey Valence and Brae
Sunday (8/3), 5:15 p.m., The Grove
Joey Valence and Brae wear their Beastie Boys influence on their sleeves, delivering a modern spin on hip-hop with brash beats and catchy bars with a hearty sense of humor and fun. Their latest record HYPERYOUTH is expected next month, but they’ve already previewed their new output with a JPEGMAFIA collab (“WASSUP”), while also teaming up with artists like IDK and Danny Brown recently.
The Established Acts
Olivia Rodrigo
Friday (8/1), 8:40 p.m., T-Mobile Stage
Olivia Rodrigo has continued her victory lap on her GUTS World Tour through festival season, playing all her megahits from “drivers license” to “bad idea right?”. Even more excitingly, the pop star has recently brought out some impressive rock icons to collaborate with live. (David Byrne joined for a cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” at GovBall, while Robert Smith teamed up for The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven” at Glastonbury.) This is a shot in the dark, but as far as Chicago’s rock legends go, could a collaboration with Fall Out Boy or Smashing Pumpkins be in the cards?
Tyler, the Creator
Thursday (7/31), 9 p.m., T-Mobile Stage
Hot off the press, prolific rapper Tyler, the Creator followed up last year’s Chromakopia with the brand-new Don’t Tap the Glass. As he wrote in a post around the announcement of new music: “This album was not made for sitting still.” With his electrifying stage presence and history of delivering sheer spectacle through impressive set pieces, expect a hyped crowd to greet Tyler, the Creator.
Djo
Friday (8/1), 6:40 p.m., T-Mobile Stage
“And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it / Another version of me, I was in it.” Djo’s smash hit “End of Beginning” – around golden hour in the Windy City – should make for a showstopping moment in Joe Keery’s ascent to rock stardom. Elsewhere in the set, look out for grooving cuts like “Charlie’s Garden,” “Gap Tooth Smile,” and “Basic Being Basic” to harness an array of classic rock vibes, from psychedelic to power pop to electronic rock.
Korn
Friday (8/1), 8:30 p.m., Bud Light Stage
Speaking of Lollapalooza’s touring past, Korn actually is an act that’s returning to the fest after playing in the touring days (1997, to be specific). The nu metal legends have a deep well of headbanging hits like “Freak on a Leash” and “Blind.” While See You on the Other Side hasn’t received outsized play on recent setlists, the record is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and holds the potential for heavy hitters like “Coming Undone” and “Twisted Transistor.”
Doechii
Saturday (8/2), 6:55 p.m., T-Mobile Stage
Last year’s Alligator Bites Never Heal established Doechii as one of the freshest voices in hip-hop. (TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar dubbed it “the hardest out” upon release, and it later won the Grammy for Best Rap Album.) The mixtape showcased the rapper’s wide-ranging styles, from the old-school flow and storytelling on “DENIAL IS A RIVER” to the rapid-fire bars on “NISSAN ALTIMA” to the Gotye-sampling “Anxiety.”
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