CHICAGO, Ill. — For the 12th year in a row, the Lollapalooza music festival takes over Grant Park in downtown Chicago July 27-31. This year is a special one — it marks the 25th anniversary of the festival.
Conceived in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell as a traveling festival/farewell tour for his band, Lolla has taken on a life of its own — but not without its ups and downs.
The festival ceased to exist between 1998 and 2002. It came back to life in 2003, but suffered a setback in 2004 when, due to lack of ticket sales, all tour dates were canceled. Farrell then joined forces with Capital Sports Entertainment (now C3 Presents, the group also behind Austin City Limits Festival) and set up home in Chicago where the fun remains to this day.
Lolla has also gone international with festivals popping up in Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Germany. To celebrate this notable anniversary, let’s look back on some festival highlights from the past 25 years.
To follow along with the celebration in real time, WTOP’s Reada Kessler will be live at this year’s festival live — on Twitter (@WTOPReada) and Instagram (@luvlyreada) — throughout the weekend.
