Lollapalooza 2017 Sunday Review
One year after its remarkable 25th anniversary, the widely celebrated Chicago music festival, Lollapalooza, returns to Grant Park. For the third year in a row I attend the internationally recognized music festival.
The Walters: 8/10

Despite their typically soothing vintage aesthetic, Chicago indie rockers, The Walters, come through with a surprisingly energetic live performance. With moshpits and vocals that could satisfy even the hardest of punk fans, The Walters’ live set is surely an experience to be had. While the quality of lead singer Luke Olson’s vocals were not affected by his choreography, his overall performance was. Initially Olson’s method of expressing himself through movement was quirky and borderline endearing. However, as the concert continued his “dancing” became increasingly bizarre and cringeworthy. Despite this however, The Walters’ performance was entertaining and managed to keep my attention throughout the show.
Noname: 7/10

Chance The Rapper collaborator, Noname (formerly known as Noname Gypsy) was an exciting choice for jazz rap enthusiasts as well as fans of Chicago rappers. Her mixtape, Telefone, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim across the board. Unfortunately, the neosoul/jazz rap combination is hard to transfer to a modern outdoor music festival. Especially, one as massive as Lollapalooza. While there were some setbacks in terms of the mixing of her vocals and physical setbacks (which she admitted), Noname still came out with a solid performance thanks to her overflowing charisma and flow.
Charli XCX: 9/10

Charli XCX’s evolution as a pop star has been an interesting ride. Her transition from a standard electropop artist to one of the most forward-thinking and polarizing pop singers in contemporary music has captured the attention of fans and music writers for years. And her live set is no less eye catching. Featuring bubbly yet bassy instrumentals, the set felt more like an EDM concert at Perry’s rather than a pop show. Not to say Charli’s vocals weren’t present, because they certainly were. Before the show I was hesitant after seeing her most recent performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. However, she came through with solid vocals that didn’t affect the atmosphere of the concert.
Finally, as the cherry on top to an already magnificent show, Charli treats her audience to not one, but two special guests: fellow electropop singer, Halsey, and raunchy female rapper Cupcakke. Halsey and Charli cover the iconic Spice Girls song, “Wannabe”, which went over way better than I would’ve expected coming from Halsey. Afterwards, Cupcakke performs two songs during Charli’s set. One being their song, “Lipgloss” off of Charli’s newest mixtape as well as Cupcakke’s own song, “CPR”. Overall, Charli XCX’s live set was the biggest highlight of the day for me and shows me why she has lasted so long in the modern pop music landscape.
Milky Chance: 6/10
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been for years since indie folk trio, Milky Chance, released their smash single, “Stolen Dance”. To be honest the band wasn’t an act I was particularly looking forward to, however, I came from the show pleasantly surprised. The show had its flaws, however, I cannot put the majority of the blame on the band. Any problems I had with the performance most likely originated from a personal bias I have against folk concerts. While I don’t usually have a problem with indie folk as a subgenre entirely, I do have a problem with it within the context of a live show. For every folk concert I’ve attended, ranging from local acts to more mainstream artists, there’s always been a sense of disconnect between the performer and the audience. While a performance may be wild and dynamic, it rarely generates a physical response from the audience greater than a gentle sway. Not to say a show cannot be entertaining and quiet in terms of volume. However, folk concerts specifically lack the ability to pull me into the genre’s aestethic. For a decent portion of the concert, I felt left in a state of limbo where I was unengaged and uninterested. Despite my bias, however, Milky Chance certainly had elements that made them stand out from your average indie folk band as well as some tight performances.
Lil Yachty: 7/10

Trap’s controversial goofball, Lil Yachty, initially began with what I thought was surely going to be the worst set of the day. Despite the massive disappointment that was his debut album, “Teenage Emotions”, I still had high hopes for Lil Boat’s set. It had been several seconds after coming out on stage before I had even noticed his arrival. After that, I was treated to incoherent yelling as well as repeated exclamations of his infamous ad-lib, “Lil Boat”. After about 15 minutes, however, Yachty began to noticeably improve his performance by controlling his energy and focusing on his flow. Songs such as “One Night” and “Minnesota” created a utopian party vibe that had his fans go wild. Unfortunately, surprise special guest and Saturday night headliner, Chance the Rapper really didn’t make any contribution except for making it rain on fans, however, it still was a pleasant surprise to see his presence. Overall, Yachty’s performance was heavily backloaded, but still a solid set.
Grouplove: 7/10
Grouplove was one of two groups I was unfamiliar with before the release of the Lollapalooza lineup (the other being The Walters). I decided to check them out mostly because I enjoyed some of their singles as well as seeing their amazing live performances on various late night talk shows. The experience started out pleasant enough with wild costumes, bizarre stage decorations and catchy, loud indie pop. However, as the concert progressed, the quality of the vocals degraded quicker than I would have hoped. It’s weird to think how even at this point in their career, vocalists Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi still struggle with conserving their voices. As wonderful as the first few songs may have been, the unlistenable vocals on the last song, “Colours” is unexcusable. Despite the underwhelming singers the rest of the set was fantastic in terms of instrumentals as well as the physical performances of Zucconi and Hooper.
Rae Sremmurd: ???/10
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get close enough physically t0 Rae Sremmurd in order to make an impartial review. While I can attest their performance was as animated as you’d expect, that’s all I can really say. My personal experience was underwhelming to say the least, however, I cannot blame anyone but myself.
Overall Experience: 8/10
Despite a couple of underwhelming performances, this was easily the best experience I have had at Lollapalooza in the three years I have gone. While some of the pleasantries could be attributed to the weather, the bulk of my appreciation goes towards the musicians and the organizers of the festival. There were some performers who fell short of my expectations, however, there was nothing horrendous about any of these sets. Also, the festival felt more well put together than anytime I’ve attended in previous years. All in all Lollapalooza 2017 helped restore my faith in the music festival and I look forward to attending next year.