Pop, metal, folk, and fire: Lolla 2025 Day One had it all!
When Lollapalooza opens its gates, the city doesn’t just hear it — it feels it!
The Lollapalooza 2025 edition blasted out of the gate with all the electricity, chaos, and genre-crossing wonder you hope for when stepping into Grant Park. The sky stayed draped in soft gray clouds, perfect festival weather, and the vibe on the field? Absolutely golden.
From the beautiful wall of distortions of Julie to the dreamlike finale from Luke Combs, with stops at performances by Mark Ambor, Glass Beams, Role Model, Sierra Ferrell, Cage The Elephant, and Alex Warren, it was a day of bold contrasts, brisk sprints between stages, and the constant hum of a crowd chasing the next thrill.
Whether you were sweating it out at Perry’s, leaning into the guitar fuzz at the Bud Light stage, or swaying under the skyline to a tender pop ballad, Lolla delivered. This wasn’t just a festival kickoff; it was a statement: we’re back, we’re loud, and we’re ready to feel everything. With many acts covered from sun-up to headliner hour, here’s a full run-through of the magic, the mayhem, and the music.
Lolla, we’re back and we’re ready!
JULIE
If you were anywhere near Julie’s set at Lollapalooza, chances are you felt your ribcage vibrate from the inside out. The LA-based trio delivered a performance at the Lakeshore stage that was equal parts noise, dream, and full-body possession. Their set was a beautiful, brutal wall of distortion — think shoegaze with fangs.
Drenched in feedback and emotion, Julie tore through songs like “Pg.4 a Picture of Three Hedges,” and “Flutter” with an edge that felt both chaotic and intimate. Guitarist Alex Brady bent notes into ghostly howls while Keyan Amani and Dillon Lee kept the low-end dark and churning like storm water. They barely spoke, but the crowd didn’t need dialogue — the music did all the talking. Julie’s vibe is raw and immersive, a fever dream for anyone who’s ever loved their distortion loud and their feelings louder. It was messy, noisy, and totally hypnotizing — like falling in love with feedback.
MARK AMBOR
Mark Ambor brought the kind of sunshine indie pop that makes you want to text someone you miss. Even under the overcast skies of Chicago, his sound glowed. Opening with “I Hope It All Works Out“, Ambor leaned into lush melodies and confessional lyrics, his voice cutting through the festival hum with a sincerity that felt instantly intimate.
Backed by a tight live band, he delivered a set filled with sweeping crescendos and soft, sparkling hooks — part Ben Rector, part early Ed Sheeran, but with a Brooklyn polish all his own.
Crowd favorite “Good To Be” turned the field into a gentle sway of arms and smiles. The vulnerability in his lyrics connected easily with the mostly 20-something audience, and by the time he closed with “Belong Together”, you could feel a shift — from casual curiosity to full-on fandom. Mark Ambor didn’t just play songs. He shared pages from his diary — and we listened.
MATT CHAMPION
Matt Champion took the crowd on a genre-blurring joyride that only he could engineer. Striding onstage with a smirk and a mission, the BROCKHAMPTON alum brought a heady mix of glitchy beats, lo-fi R&B, and raw hip-hop energy to the Lolla field.
Kicking things off with his one style, he instantly ignited the moshy core of his fanbase while wooing the curious with his charismatic swagger. Champion’s set was unpredictable in the best way — pivoting from moody introspection on “Aphid” to explosive bounce on “Steel,” and “Gbiv” with zero hesitation. Between tracks, he cracked jokes, gave nods to the Midwest, and reminded everyone that art can be chaotic and still deeply personal. His sound may be fragmented, but the emotion is cohesive.
The new solo material proves he’s more than just a piece of BROCKHAMPTON — he’s building his own beautifully fractured world. Lollapalooza got a taste, and we’re hungry for more.
SIERRA FERREL
Sierra Ferrell cast a spell of vintage twang and gypsy-folk mystique over Grant Park that felt like time-traveling barefoot through an Appalachian dream.
Dressed like a honky-tonk fairy, she turned the open-air stage into a front porch picking session. Songs like “Bells of Every Chapel” and “In Dreams” shimmered with dusty elegance, while her fiddle player and upright bassist added the kind of raw charm you can’t fake. Ferrell’s voice — warbly, rich, and uncannily old-soul — wrapped around the cloudy sky like sunshine through lace curtains.
The crowd, a blend of indie kids, outlaw country fans, and curious wanderers, stood hypnotized. Between tunes, she spoke softly, laughed loudly, and played like she was telling stories to friends. In a festival full of digital thump and electric walls, Sierra Ferrell reminded us that simplicity, soul, and sincerity never go out of style.
GLASS BEAMS
Bathed in golden light and dressed in matching robes, Glass Beams arrived like sonic shamans, conjuring cosmic funk straight from another realm. Their hypnotic set unfolded as a wordless journey — no vocals, just cascading guitar riffs, synth echoes, and tabla-infused grooves that pulsed like sacred geometry.
Tracks like “Rattlesnake,” “Mirage,” and “Mahal” throbbed through the air, their psych-jazz-meets-global-fusion aesthetic pulling listeners into a meditative trance. The crowd swayed in slow unison, many with eyes closed, soaking in the mysticism. On a sunny Chicago afternoon, they created a space that felt temple-like — surreal, grounding, and euphoric. You could feel the influence of Indian classical music woven into a digital-age tapestry, each song building like a mantra. In a lineup brimming with big vocals and booming drops, Glass Beams made silence, repetition, and restraint feel revolutionary. Their set didn’t ask you to dance — it invited you to dissolve.
ROLE MODEL
Role Model hit the stage with a kinetic charm that had the crowd swooning before he even sang a note. Blending bedroom pop sensibilities with emotional candor, his set felt like flipping through a heartfelt diary set to beats.
His setlist included tracks like “Writing’s On The Wall,” “Look At That Woman,” and “Scumbag” that immediately connected — eyes locked with fans, arms stretched wide, like your most sincere crush in concert form. Every track, from “Blind” to “Deeply Still In Love”, was soaked in vulnerability and magnetic energy. His vocals, raw and earnest, cut through the cloudy air like a warm voicemail you never deleted.
The screams from the front row? Deafening. The middle crowd sway? Unified. He didn’t just perform; he made the field feel like a living, pulsing community. Role Model reminded us that sometimes you don’t need spectacle — just an honest heart and a killer hook. This wasn’t just a set. It was a collective coming-of-age moment.
OVERMONO
As the sun dipped low behind Grant Park’s skyline, Overmono turned the Lolla grounds into an electrified after-hours dreamscape. The UK brother duo brought a pulse and precision that felt engineered to disrupt gravity — a full-body sonic takeover. Their live setup was a hypnotic dance of cables, knobs, and intention. Tracks like “Is U,” “Cold Blooded,” and “So U Kno” didn’t just play; they ripped through the foggy dusk air with mechanical warmth and emotional release. Basslines throbbed beneath the earth, and high frequencies shimmered like neon whispers.
The crowd responded in kind — not moshing, not jumping, but moving in synchronized, trance-like motion. This wasn’t EDM-for-Instagram; it was warehouse-rave catharsis dropped into a festival field.
Overmono didn’t speak much, but they didn’t need to. Every glitch, every build, every release told the story. It was a rare kind of communion — sweaty, euphoric, and strangely healing. The night officially arrived with them.
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Cage The Elephant exploded onto the stage like a pack of rock ‘n’ roll exorcists set loose in the middle of downtown Chicago. With lead singer Matt Shultz back in full, unpredictable form — stomping, and possessed by the spirit of every glam-punk poet before him — the band delivered a set that was nothing short of feral.
Opening with “Broken Boy,” they whipped the crowd into an immediate, unapologetic frenzy. From “Neon Pills” to the raucous “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” it was a rapid-fire sequence of hits and fan-favorite chaos. The guitars snarled, the lights strobed like a fever dream, and the crowd? Absolutely unhinged — in the best way possible. What separates Cage The Elephant from the rest is their ability to be theatrical without artifice; wild, but never messy.
In a humble moment, they paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne by playing Black Sabbath’s “Changes.”
Cage The Elephant plays like they’re on the verge of combusting — and somehow, every time, they survive the fire.
ALEX WARREN
Alex Warren brought a lightning bolt of Gen Z charisma to Lolla’s early evening stretch — a burst of cheeky confidence wrapped in boy-next-door charm. Bursting onto the stage with tracks “Burning Down,” “Before You Leave Me,” and “Chasing Shadows,” the TikTok-star-turned-pop-sensation had the younger crowd screaming in unison from the first beat. His voice, stronger live than skeptics might expect, had a raw grit that added surprising depth to emotionally vulnerable songs like “Carry You Home” and hit, “Ordinary.”
Alex worked the stage with a fearless energy, pointing to fans, kneeling dramatically mid-verse, and flashing a grin that felt equal parts earnest and polished. He wasn’t just performing — he was connecting, hugging signs from fans, talking between songs, and openly thanking the crowd for sticking by him. For a set that could’ve leaned novelty, Warren gave us authenticity, relatability, and pop hooks that earned their place on a festival stage this big.
ROYEL OTIS
Closing out the activities at the Lakeshore Stage, floating in on a gentle breeze of jangly guitars and sunny nostalgia, Royel Otis, with Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, turned their Lolla set into a dreamy afternoon escape. The Australian duo’s mellow-yet-tight performance was a masterclass in controlled cool, giving us lush, lo-fi textures with bursts of rhythmic precision. From the shimmering “Sofa King” to the hypnotic “Going Kokomo,” the crowd swayed in near unison, some dancing barefoot in the grass, others just lying back, soaking in the warm soundscape. The band played music from their critically acclaimed debut album PRATTS & PAIN and tracks from their upcoming new project, Hickey, out on August 22.
Their blend of hazy vocals, breezy instrumentation, and subtle psychedelia felt like a love letter to both beach towns and basement shows. With minimal banter but maximum vibe, the band let the music do the talking. And it spoke clearly: indie isn’t dead, it’s just growing more refined. As the clouds shifted above, Royel Otis gave Lollapalooza one of its most effortlessly euphoric moments — a reminder that sometimes the softest sounds leave the deepest impression.
XDINARY HEROES
Xdinary Heroes brought The Grove Stage to a roaring finale, proving that South Korea’s rock scene is ready to conquer any global festival. The six-piece band fused punk-inspired riffs, explosive drumming, and theatrical energy, creating a set that was equal parts chaos and precision. Tracks like “Fight Me” and “Break The Brake” ripped through the night air, sparking mosh pits and singalongs from a loud crowd that had clearly been waiting for this moment all day.
The band’s magnetic stage presence made the performance feel larger than the intimate, tree-lined setting of The Grove. From Jooyeon’s fiery guitar solos to Gaon’s animated leaps across the stage, the group never let the energy dip for a second. By the time they launched into their climactic finale, fans were jumping, shouting, and waving lightsticks, fully locked into the storm.
Closing Day 3’s Grove Stage, Xdinary Heroes left a blazing exclamation point on an already unforgettable night.
LUKE COMBS
As the sun dipped low over Grant Park, Luke Combs took the Bud Light stage and lit it up with pure, full-throttle country soul. Backed by a tight band and a stadium-ready voice, Combs made the massive Lolla crowd feel like a family barbecue — beer in hand, boots stomping, voices raised. From the thunderous chords of “1, 2 Many,” “When It Rains It Pours” to the tender ache of “She Got The Best Of Me,” with Alex Warren on stage, he balanced grit with heartache like only a modern honky-tonk hero can. His cover of “Fast Car” sparked an all-ages singalong, arms in the air and hearts on sleeves. What stood out most was his sincerity — every lyric felt lived-in, every grin real.
This wasn’t just a country set dropped into a big-city fest; it was Luke Combs bringing Nashville swagger and Southern comfort to the heart of Chicago. And judging by the massive cheers, Lollapalooza was more than ready for it.
By the time Luke Combs took his final bow under swirls of neon smoke, Grant Park felt like it had lived five weekends in one.
Lollapalooza’s Day One proved that you don’t need clear skies to have a perfect festival — just a stacked lineup and a sea of people ready to lose themselves in the music. The crowd bounced from stage to stage with purpose and passion, embracing metal breakdowns and folk fiddles with equal enthusiasm. No genre reigned supreme — and that’s the magic.
Every act brought their own weather system, and the field absorbed it all like a sonic sponge. Whether you were crying to Gracie Abrams, moshing to Cage The Elephant, or swaying to Sierra Ferrell’s Appalachian lilt, you felt part of something big. Day Two has a tough act to follow — because this first chapter of Lolla 2025 was a full-bodied celebration of music’s wild, weird, and wonderful spectrum.
