With the threat of rain being eliminated from forecast, Lollapalooza 2025 kicked off on Thursday at Grant Park in Chicago with a bang. The Thursday lineup was strong on paper, and even stronger in person, with new faces making their mark and one of hip hop’s biggest names adding a new chapter to his legacy. 

If you were hoping to ease your way into the festival, Atlanta rap/rock hybrid Silly Goose weren’t going to let that happen. The band went viral last year for playing a pop up show at a gas station in The Loop, and that propelled them to an actual lineup spot on the opening slot of the festival at The Grove stage. If there were any indicators this year would be wild, a wall of death before 12:30 on day one is probably a good one. 

Guitars are so back at Lollapalooza this year, and that included an early set from Austin Americana act The Droptines. With just the right amount of twang, the band pulled in a crowd over the course of their 45 minute set, many of which were likely finding their way through the gates at the start of their set. 

Another thing that’s back? Indie sleaze, and in all the best ways, too. That certainly the case when AlexSucks hit the BMI Stage. The band had a sizable crowd, and it only seemed to grow with every song. The young band certainly seems like a name to watch, and it wouldn’t be shocking to find their name on a larger stage in the next few years.

While the Lolla lineup generally hasn’t embraced as much country-adjacent music as they have this year, there was definitely a place for it on Thursday. Alt-country act Sierra Ferrell brought in a good crowd on the Bud Light Stage, and she’s one of many acts on Thursday that seemed poised for a later timeslot in the very near future. 

There was one act, though, that made the absolute most of her moment, and that was Gracie Abrams. With a crowd that filled the T-Mobile Stage Field, similar to a certain Pink Pony Club member last year, Abrams proved to be an absolute force to be reckoned with. Her set had the main stage crowd singing along to every word, especially on songs from “The Secret of Us,” and could find the on-stage cameraman and stare through your soul while performing at a moment’s notice. She will headline the festival in the near future, it just feels inevitable. To cap things off, it was a full-circle moment for Abrams, who covered Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” at her last Lollapalooza performance. On Thursday, she would do that again, only with Robyn making a surprise cameo to medley her hit with Abrams’ “Close To You” to close things out. 

Following Abrams were buzzing indie rockers Royel Otis, a band that have already made their mark several times in the last year. If you only knew them from their viral cover of The Cranberries “Linger,” you likely left a full-fledged fan, with the band keeping the energy high for the duration of their set. 

The end of the night belonged to Tyler, The Creator, fresh off of the release of “Don’t Tap The Glass.” With a mustache, gold teeth, and a banner for the new album slapped over his “Chromakopia” tour shipping container, Tyler didn’t need flash to keep his crowd fired up. That being said, there was room for flames and pyro while he danced his way from one side of the shipping container to the other. 

Certain songs just hit a crowd the absolute right way, and Tyler’s collaboration with Glorilla, Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Wayne, “Sticky,” is one of them. For Tyler, though, it’s just the latest in a string of songs that hit every right note with his audience. In fact, much of Thursday’s headlining set was a reminder of the run that he’s on, mixing “Don’t Tap The Glass” tracks with material from “Chromakopia” and just the his from “Igor” backwards. There is no slowing Tyler, The Creator down, unless he’s decides to do so, and Thursday was another example of why he’s headlined the festival three times in the last seven years. 

Thursday at Lollapalooza is already setting the bar high for the 2025 festival. The rest of the weekend has a lot of highlights to match, so stay tuned to Breaking And Entering for even more from Grant Park this weekend.