In 1991, Perry Farrell started the music festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for his band Jane’s Addiction. Since that concert in 1991, Lollapalooza has become an iconic music festival based in Chicago. The festival’s popularity skyrocketed from music listeners in Chicago to fans throughout the world. The music festival now takes place in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, and India. This worldwide exposure helps artists gain new fans and helps fans discover new music they can connect with. Some of the most idolized headliners include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frank Ocean, Lady Gaga, Chance the Rapper, and Paul McCartney. Although these big names have drawn huge crowds, DJ Dom Dolla holds the record for the largest crowd. Each year, they try to keep their artists a secret, making fans eager to find out who they could potentially see over the long weekend.
This year, Lollapalooza staff invited over 170 artists to perform during the 2026 festival, and wanted to take their announcement to the next level. To tease the reveal of the artists, they released “musical lollipops” on March 17. Each time this lollipop is sucked on, it plays a snippet of a song by an artist performing at Lollapalooza through an audio device attached to the end of the lollipop. Although many of these lollipops didn’t play songs, fans took to social media to share their thoughts about the artists they heard in the lollipop. One TikTok comment says, “These are the best inventions since the wheel.”
The managers of Lollapalooza continued their theme of idolized musicians performing and invited the most influential musicians to play on their main and side stages. Charli XCX and Lorde have been known as rival artists due to the media often referring to them as the same person. In 2024, they squashed their beef on a track together titled “Girl, so confusing,” and have often appeared at each other’s concerts since then. They are both set to headline the main stage at Lollapalooza, with most fans speculating that the two will join each other’s sets. Some other artists who are performing include Olivia Dean, who won Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys, Tate McRae, JENNIE, and John Summit.
If you choose to take a trip to Chicago, Europe, or Asia to see this spectacular music festival, or stay on the couch and watch on TV, make sure to tune into the 2026 Lollapalooza to see your favorite artists perform.
