The grandaddy of all alternative rock events was launched during the summer of 1991 as a grand experiment in bringing a European-style festival to American shores. Originally conceived by singer Perry Farrell as a last-blast blowout celebrating his beloved alt band Jane’s Addiction, the multi-artist Lollapalooza was a landmark gathering of the vibes that mashed up rock, hip-hop, industrial and heavy metal into an event that forever changed the face of summer concerts in America.
Inspired by annual Euro festivals such as Reading and Leeds, as well as one-off American events such as Woodstock, Farrell and co-founders Ted Gardner, Marc Geiger and Don Muller brought together Jane’s, British post-punk goths Siouxsie and the Banshees, rockers Living Colour, industrial ragers Nine Inch Nails, spoken word/hardcore act Rollins Band, alt-rock favorites Violent Femmes, rapper Ice-T’s metal band Body Count, acid punks the Butthole Surfers and ska rockers Fishbone on an eclectic bill that criss-crossed the nation that summer.
Braving brutally hot weather in the desert Southwest and simmering tensions between the members of Jane’s, Lollapalooza was an immediate hit, helping to spawn a raft of other multi-artist touring events, including Ozzfest, Smokin’ Grooves, H.O.R.D.E. and more in the ensuing years. The carnival — which would later add multiple side stages, environmental action tents, art exhibits and roving performers — rolled out for six more summers in its initial run, hosting everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ice Cube to Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains, Tool, Beastie Boys, Green Day and hundreds of others before winding down in 1997.
Producers rebooted it in 2003 and then canceled in 2004 before transforming the barnstorming event into a massive multi-day festival that has been rooted in Chicago’s Grant Park since 2005. Lollapalooza has also expanded over the years to include a number of overseas editions from Chile, Brazil and Argentina to Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and, in 2023, Mumbai.
