Lollapalooza Scene and Heard: New Chicago Bull Dwayne Wade, First Daughter Malia Obama, Human Hamster Balls (Photos)
More than 400,000 music fans took in the enormity of 170 bands across 115 acres of Grant Park in downtown Chicago for the festival to end all festivals — Lollapalooza.
The annual music festival — which was celebrating its 25th anniversary — hugged The Windy City as a whole, from the mayor’s traditional welcome letter inside the programs to the Chicago skyline emblazoned on the uniquely-designed Lollapalooza beer cans.
Here are the highlights of the four-day extravaganza.
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Dwayne Wade’s Chicago Debut
“It feels good to be home in Chicago,” the NBA’s Dwayne Wade announced, while making a surprise entrance on Thursday night.
He joined fellow locals Flosstradamus on Perry’s dance-themed stage. Despite growing up in Chicago idolizing the Bulls, Wade spent his entire professional career playing in Miami. He shocked the NBA by choosing to come home to the Bulls earlier this month.
Flosstradamus played the championship-era Bulls’ entrance music — “Sirius” by Alan Parsons Project — as Wade made his entrance.
Wade, Michelle Williams and Chance the Rapper teamed up for a Chicago “Bud Light Stage Moment.” (Getty Images)
Wade rolled the moment forward, bringing out another Chicago local, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child’s, to sing “Survivor.” He then rounded out the super group with Chance the Rapper, making this an all-Chicago homecoming.
In coordinating this sports, rap, pop and EDM collaboration, Bud Light Music actually scooped the Bulls themselves, who had Wade’s official introduction to the city planned for the next morning. Like Michael Jordan before him, Wade’s announcement signaled a clear message: “I’m back.”
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Malia Obama Likes Cashmere Cat, Future
Speaking of Chicago celebrities, first daughter Malia Obama was spotted in the pit Thursday watching Cashmere Cat. On Friday, she joined one of the most popular events of the day, Future’s twilight set.
Obama, 18, was the one stray celebrity noted on the grounds and definitely the only one with a Secret Service detail in clumsy plaid and khakis.
Lollapalooza became a city-wide initiative, advertised from the airport to specialized beer cans. (Getty Images)
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Major Lazer’s Brings New Year’s Eve Revelry to Soho House
Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire — the Major Lazer trio — put the “club” in the “club floor” of Soho House Chicago on Thursday night for a party thrown by managers, TMWRK. With Diplo in a “In Memory of Taylor Swift” T-shirt, they took over the decks at 2:07 a.m. and ignited an immediate attitude adjustment in the room.
Leon Bridges and AlunaGeorge at Soho House Chicago on Wednesday, July 27.
In the West Hollywood or New York Soho Houses, there is no fifth gear, dance hall mode like seen here in Chicago. Even on New Year’s Eve and Halloween, two of the house’s most festive nights, a baseline of guarded, discrete protocol for the members-only enclave rumbles on. For Lolla, it’s a different city and different rules — except for the no cell phones policy, that persists.
A video posted by Carlos (@carlosarivasm) on Jul 29, 2016 at 10:22pm PDT
Less than 24 hours later, Diplo reprised one of his great stunts: the hamster ball.
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Highlight: Radiohead’s “Karma Police” Closer
Thom Yorke of Radiohead (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
After playing their first U.S show in four years earlier this week at Madison Square Garden, Radiohead and frontman Thom Yorke closed out the second day of the festival on the Samsung stage with an encore of two classics: “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” and “Karma Police.” Critics called it “perfect.”
The view of Radiohead from the choice real estate of the Samsung Galaxy Lounge. (Tasos Katopodis)
Seen Around Town: 5 Seconds of Summer, Actors-Turned-Rockers
Danny Masterson and Michael Pena of Grandpa vs. Prowler at Bub City. (Mike McMahill)
Pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer and their management were spotted chowing down on seafood towers at RPM Steak on the same night Diplo dined in. Before playing the United Center with Drake, Future also came through. For the second year in a row, Danny Masterson and Michael Pena‘s side-project band Grandpa vs. Prowler played Bub City during Lolla weekend. Just like real bands, they took their after-party to Studio Paris, where DJ Ruckus spun. Emile Hirsch joined them on Friday night.
Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins of Wild Child.
Social media star, The Fat Jew, and Rosanna Arquette both hit up RPM Steak, albeit separately. Bulls legend Scottie Pippen and wife Larsa, who are regulars on the Miami social scene, were spotted noshing nachos at Hub 51 late night Friday, as Chris Masterson deejayed downstairs.
96 Hours of Media from a 44-Hour Festival
Red Bull TV had about 200 staff working around the clock to translate the energy and music of the scene above into the Lollapalooza Live Broadcast shown below.
A peek inside the Red Bull control room for the Lollapalooza Live Broadcast. (Mikey Glazer)
From trailers and trucks tucked behind the Lakeshore Stage, they produced three distinct 8-hour live streams each day of Lollapalooza sets, artist interviews and lifestyle programming related to the festival. By comparison, the festival gates were only open 44 hours total over all four days. This dive was deep.
With two full-scale production trucks (above, top right), they pumped out content hosted by former E! and ESPN host Sal Masekela. Execs noted that the viewership trend was for fans to tune in on schedule for specific artists, not just to browse the festival. Last year’s Metallica set ranks amongst the most popular.
A “Slam Dunk” for Valentino Khan and Skrillex
Valentino Khan with a “Slam Dunk” cake. (Twitter/DJGriffOfficial)
Beyond Dwayne Wade and the sea of Bulls jerseys in the mix, Valentino Khan extended the basketball theme.
The “Deep Down Low” producer dropped a surprise new track with Skrillex, “Slam Dunk.” R eve lling in the knee-jerk positive reaction, Khan took selfie video while playing a sold out, 5,000-person official after-party with Flosstradamus and Party Favor at the Aragon Ballroom after Lolla wrapped Friday night.
The opening days of Lollapalooza 2016 saw rain and drizzle but not dampened spirits.
The entrance to Lollapalooza in Grant Park. (Getty Images)
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