The final day of Lollapalooza 2025 once again featured near-perfect weather and a big crowd of fans and festival goers from all over. What was already a big weekend of music got even bigger on the final day, thanks to some emerging acts making their name and, of course, one of pop music’s reigning princesses to close out the festival.
Early in the day, Joe P not only shook out the cobwebs on the Lakeshore Stage, but he drew in a good crowd for the early timeslot. Touring behind 2024’s “Garden State Vampire,” he brought the energy early, eventually getting fans to the point of chanting his name in the afternoon sun.
Over on the Tito’s Stage, Chicago natives and late festival addition Post Animal was welcomed with open arms by the festival crowd. The band acknowledged that they were an unplanned guest at first, but that didn’t stop them from delivering a solid hour of buzzy rock that felt like they won’t be an alternate on Lollapalooza lineups in the future. Tracks from their latest, “Iron” played especially well, with “Setting Sun” and “Pie In The Sky” getting the crowd dancing on the cement. They also took a second to plug their November show at Thalia Hall, which is a smart move given the opportunity.
It was a big Sunday for Rebecca Black (and yes, we get the irony.) Things started off midday with a DJ set on the Perry’s Stage that kept the BPMs up, before an 8:00 slot on the Tito’s Stage that kept the party going. Her DJ set was well received, with a crowd rushing to the stage to witness part of her EDM revival.
As the afternoon heated up, so did the Lakeshore Stage, where Mariah The Scientist lit up the stage with sultry vocals while the sun beat down on her and her band. A set full of slow jams can be hit or miss at a festival, but in Mariah’s case, it was hit after hit, as she teased a new project, “Hearts Sold Separately,” which drops later this month. There was also a major surprise when Young Thug walked out for collab “Walked In.” She explained she waited two and a half years for that moment, and the crowd certainly reacted accordingly.
If you thought the final day of Lollapalooza would go by without a rager, you’d be sorely mistaken. Enter Joey Valence & Brae, who have come a long way from their first Lollapalooza, when we talked to them last. Now festival veterans, the duo had the Grove Stage going off at 5 p.m., with the crowd bouncing to every song they dropped. With a new album on the way, JBV has the momentum on their side, and a wild crowd moshing at the drop of the dime. They also premiered a new song featuring (who else but) Rebecca Black, and dropped tracks from “Hyperyouth,” which you can hear in two weeks.
With the sun setting on both the day and the festival, Still Woozy brought a soundtrack made for a Sunday night, with singer/songwriter Sven Eric Gamsky bringing chilled out material, yet still maintaining enough energy to not lull the Lolla crowd. That’s not to say he wouldn’t pick up the pace towards the end of his set, though; he would ultimately end up crowdsurfing before their hour on the Lakeshore Stage was through.
The festival was capped off by a true pop princess, as Sabrina Carpenter brought a special adaptation of her recent tour to the T-Mobile Stage for the ultimate finale to the weekend. With a new album due out at the end of the month, Carpenter was every bit the superstar that you would expect her to be, with background dancers, vintage TV-style vignettes tying together songs from “Short N’ Sweet,” and costume changes throughout the course of an hour and 15 minutes. There was, however, a major surprise when she asked Chicago if they would like to get down, before bringing out soul legends and Chicago natives Earth, Wind & Fire to perform a Carpenter-assisted medley of some of their biggest hits. While there may have been a slight hiccup when the band seemed to lose their place in the medley, the combination of the two generations turned the headlining set into an undeniable party in the park on Sunday night.
It probably goes without saying, but everything else that Carpenter would do on stage was pop perfection, calculated to the nth degree. From a backup dancer battle to a fan cam segment where three members of K-pop headliners Twice were given fuzzy handcuffs, the show felt like the greatest hits of not only her discography, but her tour as well. Of course, the night ended with plenty of sultry notes, as Carpenter slid around on a bed at the center of the stage for “Bed Chem” (with a parental warning beforehand,) and then mega-hits “Juno” and “Espresso” to close out the show. The latter of the two was likely a bit rushed for what would have normally been an encore, as her set pushed just past the 10 p.m. curfew. In any case, she shined as the full package when it comes to pop stardom, and sent Chicago home singing.
That’s a wrap on Lollapalooza 2025! This year saw plenty of surprises and big moments, as per usual with one of the biggest music festivals in the country. Stay tuned to Breaking And Entering for even more festival coverage throughout the summer!