When July/August rolls around each year, I send out dozens of reply emails that have a variation on “No, I won’t be attending Lollapalooza”/”I’m not covering Lollapalooza.” Despite living in Chicago’s Northern Suburbs, Lollapalooza for me is not the true Lollapalooza – the traveling festival that I was lucky enough to attend in the 1990s. In fact, Lollapalooza ’93 was my first paid gig as a photographer, so there’s a connection there. As a permanent, Chicago-based event, Lollapalooza just has not come up with a lineup compelling enough for me to attend. Sure, they drop in a handful of bands that I dig each year, but I’d never drop the money or deal with the hassle of attending the fest as it stands right now. Eventually, they might “wow” me, but for now, I’m in the RIOT FEST camp. Want to see a lineup that I can fully get behind? Look at RIOT FEST Chicago’s schedule… not THAT is a lineup! As for Lollapalooza, there’s highlights online every year from bands that I would dig seeing, and METALLICA is an example. Here’s their highlight reel from Lollapalooza 2015 – complete with performances of “Wherever I May Roam” and “Am I Evil?” — Old Crankypants
As it stands right now, I have no plans to cover Lollapalooza 2016… or Coachella for that matter.
