TVD Live: Lollapalooza at Grant Park, 7/31

2:59PM: The Bonus Tracks stage has been hosting an array of local talent all weekend long—the Fly Honeys, Bob’s Dance Shop, etc. Today it’s drag queens galore and I get a little taste of the fun before heading to the north end of Grant Park.

3:20PM: Joe Keery—who you might know from the hit series Stranger Things among other acting roles—also has a band, Djo. A very funky, psychedelic band that’s drawn a nice sized crowd. “I lived in Chicago for many years,” Keery noted, referencing his time studying theatre at DePaul University. “To be playing here and playing this festival means a lot. Thank you.”

4:26PM: The Marías are out here representing the Latino community and the Latino community is out here supporting The Marias. It’s pretty, sexy music sung in both English and Spanish.

4:42PM: “I’m from Chicago, Illinois—the birthplace of gospel music,” Peter Cottontale declares. It’s Sunday and the producer/composer is taking us to church.

5:05PM: Peter Cottontale is full of surprises. As if his full band and choir weren’t enough, he’s got a special guest for seemingly every song. Joey Purps, Jamilia Woods, Vic Mensa, Nico Segal, and Chance the Rapper are just a few of the friends joining him on stage. It’s really a testament to Cottontale and all the music and careers he’s influenced.

5:45PM: From her bedroom writing songs to Lollapalooza with her band, it’s been a quick trajectory for Lili Trifilio, also known as Beach Bunny. The Chicago native seems to be taking it all in.

6:32PM: Porno for Pyros are giving us what we’d expect (fire, scantily clad women including Etty Lau Farrell, Perry chugging down a bottle of red) and then some. A surprise appearance by Billy Corgan caps off their set.

7:41PM: Banks is impressing and so are her dancers. I’m next to a gaggle of gays who’re erecting a statue to her as I write.

8:24PM: “We’ve been raw dogged for two fucking years, baby. But not tonight,” Billie Joe Armstrong informs the crowd. Green Day is giving it everything they got.

8:32PM: Shortly before J-Hope, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appears on the Bud Seltzer Stage to announce that a deal has been made to keep Lollapalooza in Chicago for another decade.

9:18PM: While Green Day takes care of the south end crowd, I get my first taste of a K-Pop show on the north end. J-Hope of BTS makes his solo debut as the first South Korean to headline a major music festival. It’s a hip hop heavy set and I’m feeling it. Also, shout out to his “army” of fans, who waited patiently for him all day and maintained their enthusiasm and politeness in the process.

10:00PM: Another successful Lollapalooza in the books! See you next year!

DJO