RECAP: Lollapalooza 2021, Day Two
Breaking And Entering is in Chicago for Lollapalooza 2021! Be sure to stay tuned all weekend for recaps from the event, and subscribe to B&E on Patreon for exclusive interviews from the festival!
At the midway point of Lollapalooza 2021, Grant Park played host to a night of epic hip hop, capped off by an unforgettable headlining performance.
As was the case on Thursday, rising acts made big names for themselves on Friday afternoon. Tai Verdes was the first to truly make an impact on the Bud Light Seltzer stage, with a charismatic set that was capped off by hits “Drugs” and “AOK”, the former of the two not surprising many. Verdes’ style and stage presence proved to make him a true showman, and he genuinely appeared to enjoy his time while running up and down the center aisle of the stage area, high fiving fans along the way.
A new rock duo is poised for greatness, as Black Pistol Fire won over a crowd at the Tito’s Vodka stage with a performance that featured hard hitting drums and guitar god-level licks. The band powered through not only their set, but technical snafus as well, managing to keep the energy of the crowd with their high intensity.
Chicago showed up for one of their own as well, with a sizeable crowd migrating over to Mick Jenkins on the Bud Light Seltzer stage. Jenkins thrives when backed by a live band, and used his time to feature groove-centric jams while thanking his hometown for being with him from day one.
Later in the afternoon, Emotional Oranges made the most of their first-ever festival appearance, with a set of upbeat, yet sensual R&B based around the group’s male/female dynamic. While their stage didn’t even feature a DJ, the duo managed to fill the GrubHub Stage’s empty space with dancers and a soloing guitarist to accent the moods of their hits.
The main event of the evening, however, was a trio of major players in hip hop. Roddy Ricch kicked things off on the T-Mobile Stage, pulling in a large crowd that would only increase as the night progressed. A number of hits had the crowd in a tidal wave of hands, and a cameo from DJ Mustard for their collaborations made the show feel even bigger than it was. By the time the set closed with “The Box”, the crowd was near headliner level.
Many of those fans would run across the field shortly after Ricch’s set, as rising star Jack Harlow followed on the Lake Shore stage. Harlow added fuel to the fire with cuts from his “That’s What They All Say” project, but made a point to also work in his earlier material. The crowd had no problem rapping along with every word, sending them into a frenzy. Harlow attempted to go into the crowd after teasing it earlier in the set, but quickly realized how frenzied the crowd had become and returned to the stage for “What’s Poppin”.
Friday night capped off with another true spectacle, as Tyler The Creator brought a mixture of hip hop and performance art to the T-Mobile stage. Already an album of the year candidate, material from his latest, “Call Me If You Get Lost” did exceptionally well to open the night. The closing set would see Tyler rapping from a boat that rocked back and forth on stage, and later hopping on a platform dressed as a cloud to float above the thousands in attendance. Sir Baudelaire hopped from new material backwards, with some playful banter in between about having “a few other songs”. Later, he would transform into the Igor character from his 2019 release, with a mini-set of the album’s hardest hitting tracks. The night closed on “Call Me If You Get Lost” cut “Runitup”, prefaced by a quick explanation that Tyler “is petty and remembers everything people said to him”, and that his supposed-to-be short lived run has taken him to the biggest stage in Chicago. The crowd chanted along as fireworks surrounded Tyler, literally ending the night with a bang.
Two days are down, but Lollapalooza is in full swing after Friday’s major appearances. The weekend promises great weather, great music, and better crowds, so we’ll see what the festival delivers on nights three and four.
