This weekend, along with some of the biggest stars in music today, we’re descending on Chicago for Lollapalooza. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat for live updates!

A mud-caked Grant Park was the scene for day two of Lollapalooza on Friday, and while the rain mostly held off, a jam packed day of good music flooded the festival. Some acts were complete surprises, including Vic Mensa’s pop up performance on the Perry’s Stage that was announced that morning, and other acts re-established their dominance. Here’s some of the highlights from Friday at Lollapalooza:

The Frights are a Ton of Fun

One of the first acts of the day, The Frights, are simply a name that you need to watch for. The band’s brand of surf rock hit the Tito’s Vodka stage at 12:15, but both the band and the crowd had the energy of a headliner. The set culminated in a blend of pseudo-covers, which delighted the moshing crowd early in the day. On a whim, discovering the band was a very promising start to Friday.

Cloud Nothings Breaks the Clouds

Fast paced indie seemed to be a theme during the afternoon, as Cloud Nothings delivered a high energy set on the Bud Light Stage. While the band didn’t move much, they didn’t need to, and the fans more than made up for it. The band played the majority of their latest album, “Life Without Sound”, and closed out their time with the crushing marathon “Wasted Days”. Just as the band was hitting their apex of that song, the dark clouds cast over Grant Park gave way for some sunshine, which we’re just going to attribute to the power of that song. Don’t question me on it.

Mura Masa Comes out of Nowhere

One of the biggest surprises of the day was the crowd reaction to Mura Masa at the Pepsi Stage. The producer from Guernsey kicked off his set with the A$AP Rocky collaboration “Love$ick”, causing kids to run from the street to the stage area. A few songs in, and fans were climbing trees and packing the smaller stage area to get in on the action. Definitely a pleasant surprise, and a very fun moment to watch.

 

 

 

 

Phantogram Go Negative, Play Incredibly Positive

With the giant projection screens at the Grant Park stage showing black and white negative space images of them, Phantogram delivered a great set that demonstrated their position as festival regulars. With little banter for most of the set, the band played through a healthy mix of new and old material. Frontwoman Sarah Barthel did, however, give an impassioned monologue about mental health, which frankly couldn’t have been more appropriate for the band to do. A string of hits, concluding with “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” finished their show.

 

Run The Jewels Run Lollapalooza

What can we say about Run The Jewels? The duo of Killer Mike and El-P have made it their calling card to deliver high energy, fun sets that mix hip hop with heavy-bass EDM elements. One of the biggest non-headline crowds of the day, the duo knocked track after track from “Run The Jewels 3”. The highlight, though, was bringing a kid from the crowd with a sign that read “Let Me Rap Legend Has It” onstage to do just that, and he did so without any visible signs of nervousness, igniting the crowd. Unplanned, but amazing when it works right. This was one of the best sets of the festival so far.

Blink 182 Burns the House Down

If you’re Blink 182, you have a lot to live up to closing out a night of Lollapalooza. The band delivered in a major way, though, with a set full of pyro, steam, and anything else that they could throw at the Bud Light Stage crowd. Their set was similar to the hit-filled frenzy that hit Summerfest last year, but notably included more cuts from their most recent album, “California”. The new inclusions were a tremendous addition to the set, proving that the band is still a good distance from essentially playing a greatest hits album live. The band finished out Friday night with early hit “Dammit”, complete with flamethrowers, ping pong balls being dumped on the crowd, and a firework grand finale.

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