With a good portion of festival attendees in their teens, electronica continues to rule Lollapalooza weekend with performances from industry up-and-comers like Halsey, Grimes, and Phantogram.

Yet, it was rock and hip-hop that won the festival: J. Cole, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, and Vince Staples, to name a few. Four days and 400,000+ attendees later, Lollapalooza’s 25^th anniversary was full of highs, lows, a few technical difficulties, and a plethora of Chicago’s finest MCs.

Many up-and-coming artists use Lollapalooza as a stepping stone, an opportunity to showcase their artistry before they “make it big.” Many of these artists have a following, but Lollapalooza can catapult their careers. This was the case for electropop artists Halsey, Grimes, and Chicago-based MC Saba.

Grimes essentially played a one-woman show – singing, dancing, and playing multiple instruments simultaneously. Although she was vocally flat during her set, she was entertaining to watch – dancing without missing a beat, despite having two sprained ankles.

With striking background visuals and voluminous bass, 21-year-old Halsey gyrated and grinded her way through fan favorites “Gasoline,” “Roman Holiday”, and her cover of Justin Bieber’s “The Feeling”.

Well-known for his live performances, ASAP Mob member A$AP Ferg took to the stage, opening with his verse on Carnage’s “WDYW”. Eventually joined by fellow ASAP Mob member A$AP Rocky, Ferg kept the crowd engaged during his entire set by reminding them that “this isn’t a performance, this is a party!” After a cameo performance of “Overnight Celebrity” from Chicago’s-own Twista, Ferg’s set climaxed with “Shabba” and “Work” – two of his biggest hits – before he closed his set with “New Level”.

With his guitar and Budweiser in tow, City and Colour (AKA Dallas Green), brought his folk sound to the Lollapalooza stage for a rainy hour-long set on Thursday. As Green’s soothing voice engulfed the northernmost area of Grant Park, it was easy for fans to forget about the gloomy weather. As Green and his band entranced fans with “Waiting” and “Wasted Love”, the sun peeked out to enjoy his music before disappearing behind the clouds during “Lover Come Back”.

After a five-year hiatus, LCD Soundsystem reunited to close out Lollapalooza by stepping on the accelerator and never letting up. From beginning to end, the band flawlessly executed their nearly two-hour set, performing a total of 15 songs, including “Daft Punk is Playing at My House”, “Tribulations,” and “Dance Yourself Clean.” Watching LCD Soundsystem, it’s hard not to be engulfed by their music, hypnotized by all the instruments and sounds at play.

Essentially opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction took the main stage at their own festival. Complete with scantily clad female dancers and cameos by Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Jane’s Addiction played, in its entirety, their final studio album before their first disbandment, 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual.

Cole and Red Hot Chili Peppers took home the gold for their 2016 Lollapalooza performances. Cole, who has played at Lolla in the past on a smaller stage, performed music from his flawless 2014 Forest Hills Drive, as well as his debut and sophomore projects. Headlining the opening night of Lollapalooza to a crowd that swelled to unknown numbers, Cole, backed by a live band, once again proved why he’s one of the best MCs in the industry right now.

Backed by a six-piece band, soul singer Leon Bridges flawlessly executed an hour-long set at Toyota’s 25^th Hour Lollapalooza after-show. Prior to Bridges and his band taking the stage, Big Boi (Outkast) warmed up attendees with a 30-minute DJ set. Despite having a performance at Lollapalooza the following day, Bridges performed like his life depended on it – giving the crowd a taste of what it was like to spend time in the juke joints during the Jim Crow era. Bridges played his debut album Coming Home in its entirety and like the true artist that he is, left attendees wanting more. There’s much more to come from this talented Texas native – stay tuned.

Accompanied by just his acoustic guitar, 18-year-old guitar prodigy James Bell X performed an acoustic set during the It’s So Miami Lollapalooza brunch at Chicago’s Renaissance Hotel. The UK native’s sound was the perfect setup for day three of Lollapalooza, featuring some of his original songs at the invite-only event overlooking the Chicago River. James Bell X is a gifted singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who is sure to have a future in the music industry and will hopefully grace the stages of Lollapalooza.

Well-known in his hometown of Chicago, producer and MC Saba, née Tahj Malik Chandler, performed an early afternoon set day two of Lollapalooza. The diversity of his music made him one of the most notable performers of the weekend’s festivities. Performing an early afternoon set at a music festival can be a daunting task, but Saba took it all in stride and made every moment on the Lolla stage count. Performing music from his upcoming album Bucket List, Saba’s talent as a songwriter, producer and MC were on full display and his fanbase is sure to have grown exponentially.

photos by Kris Lori Fuentes Cortes. Images of leon Bridges are courtesy of Toyota.

The post Lollapalooza rocks Chicago with a 4-day anniversary show appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Boston Calling is a semi annual music festival that transforms City Hall Plaza into a safe space for music, beer, cheers, and what’s bound to be lasting memories. The festival launched in May 2013 and has grown bigger with every year. This year’s lineup was a mixture of all genres and nothing short of stunning with artists like Janelle Monae, Miike Snow, and Sia taking the stage.

Day one kicked off as everyone got off work with a band that couldn’t have been more fitting for Boston: Lisa Hannigan and Aaron Dessner. Dessner, well-known from The National, is currently partnering up with Hannigan and helped her produce the upcoming album. Hannigan’s album is due to come out in August and it’s nothing short of exciting to see these two perform live.

Sufjan Stevens is an artist whose music is a mix of genres but somehow comes together quite nicely and the same can be said for his live production. In the first three songs of the set the man brought out dancers, colorful neon-lined clothing, and let’s not forget the enormous wings that he wore. Fans of Sia who were waiting at the other stage, were fascinated and all turned their attention to him. The only other performer that could come close to what Stevens does on stage with his music and his set would be The Flaming Lips.

As Stevens’ set ended the crowd swarmed around the JetBlue Stage as so many fans were eager to see Sia whos show involved a set of talented dancers, much like in the videos that brought her back to the main stream. As Sia sang from the corner of the stage, her touring teammates took the stage to act out each song.

The last two days of Boston Calling kept up the excitement from Friday’s acts. Some key performers were Lizzo, City and Colour, Vince Staples, Robyn, and Janelle Monae.

Lizzo brought sass and class to the stage on day two. The aritst has had a long musical career and released her album Big Grrl Small World just this past December. Her music and what she speaks is turning heads. Lizzo speaks about women empowerment, self-love, and enjoying what life has to offer. Second night ended with the Swedish electropop star Robyn whose set was very different from her typical show, this time Robyn performed remixes of her older songs to be released later this year.

“Remixes make me listen to a song in a different way; they stretch you out as a listener and leave space for other things that a pop song usually doesn’t.  I hope to be able to share this experience with my audiences at Governor’s Ball, Boston Calling, and Field Trip over the next week and just dancing together” she said.

Day three was a cold one but the hype was still high and alive. Janelle Monae honored Prince with a cover of “Purple Rain”. The Disclosure delivered a much more electronic set. Boston Calling isn’t quite over yet for the year, we look forward to checking out their Fall lineup.

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