Ev’s Ready for Lolla ‘19!
Lollapalooza… one of the most iconic, popular, and wild city music festival in the country, and it just so happens to exist in the city I get to call home. Lolla is a Chicago masterpiece, an event that draws people to the city from all over, for music, for art, and most importantly people. The crowds are huge, and the energy is even huger. People want to see their favorite acts in full glory, and Lolla is the place to do it because unless it’s weather, they will not disappoint. I happen to be one of those people, and this year like the rest, I have a very long list I wish to see.
Lollapalooza is no way near my favorite festival, but it is special to me for so many reasons. Most significantly, it exists in Chicago in the park that I get to wander through between classes, in the park that I have gotten higher than a kite, and a park where I’ve wept besides the trees. Grant Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the world, because of the view of the skyline, a skyline filled with colorful architectural wonders. It is because of this view of the skyline that I’ve attended Lollapalooza the past two years, and it is the reason that I am attending this year.
In the summer of 2017, I was a graduated Senior itching to move to the city. I was scared, more accurate, I was terrified. The city is a big place, with tons of people every where you look and every day you wake up thinking you have to busy seeing everything the city has to offer. Once I knew I was going to be attending DePaul, I knew I had to go to Lolla. I had decided the previous summer that event planning was to be my career, and a music and arts festival would be my greatest creation for the world, and a creation of my own world, just like Lolla’s founder, Perry Farrell.
It was at Lolla in 2017 that I began to feel less scared of living in the city, and less scared of producing a music and arts festival. When I began to feel anxious, I looked to the skyscrapers that surrounded the park, and took a deep breathe of the wind from the lake. These things helped me remember that the natural world and cities like Chicago are truly beautiful. The thing is though, you have to remember they are. When you forget, the anxiety will creep back, and so will the expectations. If Lollapalooza has taught me another thing, its not to have expectations, and simply enjoy the moment. You may lose your friends for REZZ, Porter Robinson may get rained out, but thee things only hurt you if you expect them to go perfect.
Lollapalooza is nowhere near perfect, and I do have my critiques. But overall it is an amazing festival that has given me so many reasons to smile and welcomed me to Chicago. This year is going to be epic, and I can’t wait to wander around the parking, finding sets, and finding friends. The memories that I’ll make this weekend and the ones I’ve made in years past are the ones I think about when I stroll through the city throughout the rest of the year. These moments hold me together, and keep me in Chicago, grinding away at a degree, and at life.
I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Lollapalooza and they find their own moments to remember. For me it will be the first time I head to the festival (mostly) alone, and I am excited to spend some alone time staring at the skyscrapers, and showing off my funky moves. If you want to know what I’ll be dancing to, check out the playlist I created below of some of the songs I wish to see at Lolla ‘19. It’s sort of a random bunch, but I’m a pretty random person. So on that note, Happy Lollapalooza Everyone , and I hope you all have an absolutely magical day at Lolla or at home!
Listen to Songs I wish to see at Lolla ‘19!