After a downpour the night before, the sun shone upon Grant Park for a picture-perfect start to Lollapalooza. Some of the big storylines of the day:
- Tyler, the Creator drew one of the biggest – if not the biggest – crowds of the day. (His “GLASS” hats, from his most recent release’s cover art, were one of the most ubiquitous pieces of merch spotted on the festival grounds throughout the day.) This victory lap for his latest records, Chromakopia and Don’t Tap the Glass, culminated in a massive, hyped audience gathering at the T-Mobile Stage for the rapper’s headlining set. Whether it was recent cuts like “Noid” and “Sticky” or throwback favorites like “IFHY,” Tyler, the Creator’s electric stage presence had the crowd fired up.
- Luke Combs reflected on his rise – alongside country music at large – at Lollapalooza, from playing the Tito’s Stage in 2018 to headlining this year (the first country artist to do so). Combs got the honky tonk party going with the rollicking “1, 2 Many” and led massive singalongs with his hits like “When It Rains It Pours” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
- The Role Model to Gracie Abrams pipeline culminated in the latter’s stunning sunset set, with an excellent surprise guest.
Here’s a spotlight on more sets (including deeper dives on Role Model and Gracie Abrams) that stood out from Day 1:
Girl Tones
Girl Tones got the BMI Stage off to a rocking start, delivering big, scuzzy guitar licks on set opener “Again.” Later, “Blame” showcased the deft vocal interplay between the rock duo/sisters Kenzie and Laila. Another surprise? Cage the Elephant guitarist Brad Shultz joined to help close out the set.
Sierra Ferrell
With a blend of bluegrass, folk, and country styles, Sierra Ferrell impressed with her unique, twangy vocals from the jump on “I Can Drive You Crazy.” Bluesy stomper “Chittlin’ Cookin’ Time in Cheatham County” got the crowd rocking, while “American Dreaming” showcased Ferrell’s standout harmonies with her backing band.
Role Model
Role Model proved to be one of the day’s ascendant stars, drawing a huge crowd to the Tito’s Stage. The fans packed along the front row roared along to all the words to the opening one-two punch of “Writing’s on the Wall” and “Look at That Woman.” The old timey, folksy “The Longest Goodbye” (his recent collab with Laufey) served as a strong mid-set vocal showcase for singer Tucker Pillsbury’s dulcet croon. And Role Model kept the crowd bouncing and singing along to the end, finishing on a high note with anthemic hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” and the jangly “Deeply Still in Love.”
Cage the Elephant
To see Cage the Elephant perform live, led by vocalist Matt Shultz and guitarist Brad Shultz, is to see one of the most electrifying rock acts touring today. The Kentucky outfit’s set got off to a blazing start with plumes of fire backing the band on opener “Broken Boy.” Matt Shultz’ dynamic stage presence kept the crowd constantly engaged, whether he was leaping at the edge of the stage’s runway or performing in the heart of the crowd at the barricade with rocking hits like “Spiderhead” and “Cold Cold Cold.”
Gracie Abrams
Across the grounds, Gracie Abrams took the stage with a tough set time conflict with Cage the Elephant. Whether on acoustic guitar or piano, Abrams evoked extremely impassioned singalongs from fans packed around T-Mobile Stage with her powerhouse vocals on exceptional tracks like “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” and “That’s So True.” The singer-songwriter had one more ace up her sleeve to close out her set, though. She recalled her 2022 Lollapalooza set, where she covered Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.”
“By some miracle, the queen herself is here tonight,” Abrams said, introducing none other than Robyn. The crowd’s cheers reached a fever pitch as the two performed a showstopping mashup of Abrams’ smoldering hit “Close to You” interwoven with Robyn’s exuberant pop classic “Dancing on My Own.”
