Lollapalooza 2024 - Day Four Report

Sunday August 4, 2024 @ Grant Park, Chicago

On day four of Lollapalooza, the hottest of its four days, fans sought refuge in the shadier stages of the festival waiting for the night's headliners of Melanie Martinez and Blink-182. The four-day fatigue could be felt from vendors to fans to staff, but it didn't stop many artists from producing knockout sets. While Lollapalooza has morphed into a dance, hip-hop and pop leaning festival, it was the rock bands who soared on Sunday proving that their roots are still what gives Lollapalooza its identity. The festival is sprawling throughout Grant Park with food vendors, an entire section dedicated to plant-based options, sponsor stations, water filling stations, merchandise, games, a section dedicated for your sweet tooth, but even without all of this, Lollapalooza is still about the music.

Scarlet Demore 12:45
Local Chicago band Scarlet Demore hit the Bacardi stage early in the day as the sun was becoming oppressive but none of this stopped their mission which was to rock hard for their brief forty-minute set. Lead vocalist Cat Ayala covers the stage like a possessed being, you see her wail and roar from the stage while guitarists Alex Gonzalez and Joel Smith and bassist G Passaro tear up the stage with their alternative punk sounds. The band was pounding, and it is exactly the type of set you need to see at the start pf the day to fuel you for the rest of the day and Scarlet Demore did just that with fan favorite "Spiked Seltzer" drawing a noteworthy response from the crowd.

Good Kid 1:45
Over at Tito's stage, a good gathering of fans welcomed Toronto's Good Kid, a five-piece indie rock band who brought big time oomph to the stage despite the asphalt ground and sun beating down on, they were jaunty, filled with humor with comments such as "Everybody give it up for Skrillex our opening band."

Nico Vega 2:50
Nico Vega, notably lead singer Aja Volkman, brought fire to the festival with a fully forged set made of molten rock. Volkman prowled the stage and transported every song like she was standing on the stage of a stadium. Dressed all in black, Volkman led the band, which includes actor Michael Pe-a, through a durable set that was needed in the earlier part of the day as a wake-up call.

Kaitlin Butts 3:30
This was a throwback to the honky-tonk country music of the past. Oklahoma's Kaitlin Butts drew influence from Miranda Lambert and fully embraces old school country music. In a day and age where a lot of modern country music feels and sounds derivative, Butts relishes the throwback nature of her music. Performing songs from her latest album Roadrunner! she weaved tales of women who may be down on their luck but not without hope. "You Ain't Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)" featured an assured vocal that she served with all the fervor of a Sunday morning preacher selling the song like her life depended on it.

Vince Staples 5:00
Rapper Vince Staples spent a good portion of his set when not performing songs from his latest album Dark Times speaking to the crowd. Despite the vastness of the stage and the time in the early evening, Staples bonded with them in a way one may not expect. With limited stage time, the artist does not always have a chance to express themselves to the fans, but Staples did this with ease. Set closer "Black&Blue" grooved its way throughout the north side of the park with Staples taking a well-earned victory lap showing everyone that he's ready to headline.

The Last Dinner Party 5:45
If I had only seen the Last Dinner Party on Sunday, day four would have been worth it delivering the standout set of the day and making lifelong fans of anyone who witnessed their magic. Trying to box them into a specific genre is challenging as some may refer to Victorian pop, alternative or indie rock, but labels don't matter when you are as good as the Last Dinner Party. Opening their hour long set with "Burn Alive," the all-female group worked their magic on the Chicago crowd. The band is theatrical in every aspect from their stage outfits, their sound, and their performances. Lead singer Abigail Morris sveltely navigates the concert stage in an intoxicating manner where you would follow her into battle. Despite only having formed a few years earlier, the Last Dinner Party functioned like they'd been together for more than a decade bringing a conviction to their craft few have this early in their carer. Guitarists Lizzie Mayland and Emily Roberts supply austere riffs while bassist Georgia Davies holds the foundation together and keyboardist and Aurora Nishevci colors in the sketches from her bandmates into a sound that is refreshing and unique.

The Last Dinner party feel more like an art project than a punk rock band, but don't let this distract you from their craft. Performing songs from Prelude to Ecstasy the five-piece (along with touring drummer Casper Miles) elevated each of these songs in concert. They feel as if they were fully formed, much like the first time I saw Lorde, Sam Fender, and Florence + the Machine at Lollapalooza; acts born to play a big stage for their art to reach the masses. The sing-along "Sinner" emerged halfway through their set and found the fans with their arms while lead vocalist Abigail Morris sprinted across the stage like it was Shakespeare in the Park feeding off her inner thespian wanting and needed to make a connection with the audience. The Last Dinner Party are ready-made for big halls and music festivals on the strength of their own material, let alone their blazing covers which included Blondie's "Call Me" at Lollapalooza. They welcomed the crowd and encouraged everyone to stay hydrated but also told the audience they will stop the show if someone is in trouble, and in a bit of foreshadowing, someone needed help during the entrancing "My Lady of Mercy" and they stopped until they were taken care of. They then thanked the staff at the festival for all the work they did all weekend. Not only are they mesmerizing on the stage, but they're incredibly endearing as well.

Beneath all the style is quite a bit of substance as the Last Dinner Party wrap tangled emotions in their lyrics in the lingering "Mirror", the ballad "Portrait of a Dead Girl" and the spectacular set closer "Nothing Matters", showing everyone in attendance the world building they have started and how the dynamic nature of their music signals to a future where they may be headlining festivals.

Conan Gray 6:45
Born in California but raised in Texas, Conan Gray has made a name for himself these last several years crafting titular pop music that was on full display at his Lollapalooza performance. There's no other way to say this, but Conan Gray's set at the Bud Light stage at Lollapalooza was a star making performance. Of course he's a star already, but the certainty, fury and resolve he showed was nothing short of breathtaking. Opening with "Fainted Love" and "Never Ending Song" from his 2024 album Found Heaven, Gray commanded the audience, and they embraced him immediately. He first played Lollapalooza in 2019, but this time around, he emerged like a rock star willing to give his all. He performed with the confidence of Freddie Mercury and the sway of Marc Bolan. Conan Gray wasn't simply good, his performance transcended all expectations, and one could argue stole the day away from bigger and more established names.

Blink-182 8:45
Love them or hate them, there is no denying Blink-182 are beloved and this reunion has shown how crucial this band is to so many. They are one of the great bands of their time and their story is still unfolding. While their arena tour in 2023 was pricey with many fans being shut out due to dynamic pricing, their headline set at Lollapalooza allowed those fans to catch a glimpse of a band that has proven to be as foundational for many current acts as the Ramones or the Clash were for bands of the eighties and nineties.

Hitting the stage with 2003's "Feeling This" Blink-182 captured the imagination of the crowd and never let go. Despite time and distance, while the band may have mended fences with one another, they still bring a good amount of goofiness and silliness to their shows. Mom jokes were aplenty (with one even involving the tourist attraction of the Bean in downtown Chicago). The set was a mixture of classics ("First Date," "Rock Show," "I Miss You," "All the Small Things," "Dammit") and new songs from ONE MORE TIME. The arena show ported over to the festival stage with U.F.O. lighting designs, pyrotechnics and a drum kit Travis Barker played mid-air above the stage for several songs.

The set did have its fair share of surprises including the Hoppus/Barker collaboration 'When Your Heart Stops Beating' from their post-Blink venture +44 and "There Is", Barker and DeLonge's hit from their Boxcar Racer side project. To their credit, the band sounds better than they ever did during their initial imperial period (1998-2004). The unruliness and overconfidence of their youth has given way to a group of friends willing to play these songs better than they've ever been played before. One of the last singles the band performed before their first break up, "Always," soared higher than it ever did. Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge set the path for the melody to shine and while the song builds, there is an expressive crescendo that that drummer Travis Barker nailed that transported the audience to separate times of their lives where this music once and continues to be part of their soundtrack.

The encore was the ballad "ONE MORE TIME," an emotional roller coaster of a song where they confront their friendship and mortality. If the diehards are listening close enough, there are metaphors they can take into their own stories and with that, Lollapalooza 2024 ended. This is the anguish of the past, the panic of the present and the hope of the future we all seek out when we attend music festivals in the hopes we find artists who will help guide the way. Lollapalooza 2024 had dozens I'll carry with me for years to come and that is the festival's greatest reward; being able to find our own stories through the art of others.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He has seen over 1,000 concerts in his life and has covered Lollapalooza in-depth for over a decade. He can be contacted at tonykAT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

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