Lollapalooza 2024 rolled into Saturday without any rain in sight, and while it was another hot day, Saturday featured the mix of fresh faces and established stars that makes it special. 

Festivalgoers were woken up to a surprise and plenty of bass, as it was revealed on Friday night that Skrillex would both open and close the Perry’s stage, renamed as the Sonny’s stage for the day. The takeover featured not only two sets from Skrillex, but also appearances from Four Tet, Kenny Beats and many more throughout the day.

While the stars were already out, newer names were busy turning heads elsewhere. Armani White was kicking things off on the T-Mobile main stage, and brought much more than rapid-fire raps to Grant Park. He revealed to the crowd that while he’s currently  getting ready to drop a project, he’s also been going through some things, losing family members and recently had his house broken into. With all of that behind him, though, he was very gracious about the Chicago crowd early in the day, and in between throwing water and fruit snacks into the field, he was dropping gems like his breakout single “Billie Eilish.” 

Directly after that, on the IHG Hotels stage, rockers Destroy Boys brought a frenzied set that featured plenty of aggression and calls for change. When they weren’t blasting off material or teasing a new record that comes out next Friday, vocalist Alexia Roditis was explicit in talking about the government, the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in America, and harassment from men. It was a brand of politically-charged punk that felt like a tip of the cap to the early days of the genre.

Mid-Sonny’s takeover, Kenny Beats dropped arguably some of the filthiest beats of the day, mixing dubstep with hip hop and just a bit of tech house thrown in. His set filled the Perry’s stage footprint, with crowds grooving to and singing along with every record that he dropped, including tracks from Chicago staples like Chief Keef and Kanye West for good measure.

By the time the heat was starting to subside, the heavy hitters were making their way to the stages of Lollapalooza. Deftones were one of the first big names to grace the T-Mobile stage, and it sounded like the long-running band hadn’t lost a step or slowed down for any point in their career. They brought not only one of the loudest sets of the day, but an incredibly clean mix, cutting through the noise of the festival for one of the most punishingly heavy appearances of the day. 

Elsewhere, nestled in the trees of the Bacardi stage, Killer Mike carried a set of his solo material to the Chicago faithful. While he would fit in tougher verses, like his own version of Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared,” he also donned all white along with a group of backup singers and talked about being blessed. He mentioned that his son received a successful kidney transplant earlier this year, and also grieved the loss of his grandmother, all while delivering raps in the signature Killer Mike cadence that made him a star.

Pop band TV Girl also stoked the fire of a rumor mill on Saturday, saying that headliners Future and Metro Boomin were going to bring out a special guest during their headlining set, and his name “rhymed with lake,” to squash their current feud. By all accounts, that did not happen, as the rapper and producer instead showed up late to their set, only to give a truncated performance on the Bud Light stage. Looks like the beef is still very much in tact.

While hip hop and EDM were the main focus everywhere else, Saturday headliners The Killers gave a 90-minute performance on Saturday with all of the showmanship of their Las Vegas roots. Frontman Brandon Flowers commanded the spotlight, dressed up with a smile on his face at all times. He led the charge on a career-spanning set from the band, complete with it’s fair share of singalongs besides the obvious closer “Mr. Brightside.” The night was complete with a fan getting to play drums on “For Reasons Unknowns” which went surprisingly well, and a litany of hits from the band. They were certainly a band deserving of the headlining spot, and a fitting sendoff to a big day of music throughout Grant Park.

There’s just one day left of Lollapalooza 2024, but there’s still plenty of action to close out the weekend in Chicago. Be sure to follow Breaking And Entering on Instagram for even more from Grant Park.