Lollapalooza will fill Grant Park with hundreds of thousands of people next weekend, the latest event that — like the Pitchfork Musical Festival and the Grateful Dead's farewell concerts at Soldier Field before it — puts Chicago center stage.
With spring's NFL draft, which transformed itself and Grant Park into a three-day football fan festival, the city's plan to raise its profile and promote tourism through large-scale events is showing momentum.
While locals may grumble about cordoned-off streets and lollygagging visitors, and skeptics question the bottom-line economic benefits, the city says its strategy is paying off.
Lollapalooza generated nearly $82 million last year in direct spending, while the NFL draft — which returned to Chicago after a half-century in New York — added nearly $44 million, according to separate economic impact studies funded by the city and event organizers.
It easy to be skeptical (and believe us, these numbers are probably inflated), but regardless one of the benefits of living in a vibrant urban neighborhood is events and the hoopla that at times surrounds them.
Anyway, enough of the political and PR spin associated with events. Let's dive into Lollapalooza. While we're by no means music experts, there are some acts that we're pretty excited to see. With that said, here is our some of our favorites that will be invading the Sloop this weekend:
FRIDAY BADBADNOTGOOD (Pepsi Stage: 2:50 - 3:30) - Three classically trained jazz students collaborate with former hip hop royalty - yes please:
Alabama Shakes (Samsung Galaxy: 5:45 - 6:45) - They're not a hidden gem anymore, but seemingly continue to get better with each album:
Paul McCartney - (Samsung Galaxy: 7:45 - 10:00) - While many younger fans will probably flock to see The Weeknd on the other side of the park, the reality is that they're idiots. Sir Paul is probably the most important living musician in the world. While The Beatles may not be turning out new music - there songs will live forever. And while you're still living, you should probably hear some of them live by surviving members:
SATURDAY
Sturgill Simpson (Bud Light: 2:45 - 3:45) - We're no fans of (pop) country music here, but if this is what the genre entails then maybe we need to reconsider:
Delta Spirit (Pepsi: 5:15 - 6:00) - We've read some mixed reviews on this band, but there song "California" is officially stuck in our head. It's not new, but it's new to us and as a result will probably earn them a live listen from our crew:
Tame Impala (Samsung Galaxy: 6:00 - 7:00) - This australian band has played Lollapalooza before, but they were kids. Coming off of a new hot album, these dudes have being playing live for awhile and have an abundance of sweet, psychedelic, moody rock that is sure to appeal to a prime slot on Saturday of Lolla. Outside of Sir Paul, we're not missing these guys:
Sam Smith and Metallica headline the festival on Saturday. Both are accomplished. Both don't have a ton of appeal to us, but undoubtedly will for many.
SUNDAY
Wild Belle (Pepsi 5:15 - 6:00) - There has been a lot of talk about 2015 and the prevalece of female lead singers. Sunday is devoted to the females for us. First up is local brother and sister crew who have an unmistakably cool sound and vibe which may be needed given that it's late July/early August in Chi:
Of Monsters and Men (Samsung Galaxy 6:30 - 7:30) - Solely based on their kick ass concert from Loll 2012, we are checking them out again this year. While they've been relatively quiet ever since, they did just drop a new album - hopefully they can rekindle some of the energy from 2012:
Florence + The Machine (Samsung Galaxy 8:30 - 10:00) - Lead singer Florence Welch is a force. While we're not aware of any religious themes in the bands music, it oozes spirituality. A fitting way to end what is usually a sin filled weekend for many:
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