With the threat of rain overhead, Lollapalooza day two felt distinctly gray. That didn’t, however, stop tons of fans from flooding Grant Park (no pun intended) with one of the biggest stars in modern pop music set to headline on Friday night. Here’s some of the highlights from day two:

While the day would ultimately feature Lil Uzi Vert cancelling his set, and Zara Larsson ultimately having one of the biggest non-headliner crowds of the day, the T-Mobile Stage got jump started on Friday by K-pop act I-dle. The group had a sizeable crowd in the main stage field, and on stage as well, with a veritable army of background dancers surrounding the girl group. While their music is catchy, the sight of so many people dancing in sync added to the spectacle of their set.

The BMI Stage often features the bands that maybe aren’t on your radar, but definitely should be, and that was the case when singer/songwriter Emi Grace and her band took to the stage early on Friday. If you like buzzy guitars and adrenaline-boosting anthems, she is your jam. She would call Lollapalooza the best show she’s ever played on Friday, and for good reason, as her crowd continued to build as the day went on. Watch her name for the future.

While Lollapalooza isn’t the Warped Tour, pop-punkers The Story So Far certainly made it feel like it on the Bud Light stage. The band’s afternoon set had fans breaking out into huge circle pits, crowd surfing over the barricade, and singing along at full voice to “Quicksand,” “Heavy Gloom” and more. Frontman Parker Cannon told the crowd that they deliver “no frills” to their Lollapalooza set, but when the crowd is as passionate as they were on Friday, there was no need for excess flash.

If you’re looking for a fresh find on the heavier side of things, English metal band Loathe are certainly it. The band made their presence felt on the Tito’s Stage, with a brooding tone that ultimately could cede into thrash territory at any given moment. Their afternoon set may only be a jumping off point for the band, on the heels of the recently released album “A Stranger to You.”

In the grove of the Grant Park trees, Balu Brigada was one of the more anticipated sets of the day, bringing a big crowd onto the wood chips at the Airbnb stage. The band is buzzing right now after the success of set-closer “So Cold,” but material from 2025’s “Portal,” including single “Backseat” brought fans running into the stage area to join in on their party. It felt like another sign of things to come, as the band may very well take that momentum and run with it to more marquee spots at the festival in the coming years.

There’s always a party at Perry’s, and when producer/DJ/Kendrick Lamar collaborator Mustard grabbed the aux, he amassed a huge crowd in the process. Dropping everything from Big Sean’s “I Don’t Fuck With You” to Kendrick’s “Not Like Us,” he had the crowd bouncing along to whatever came next. Of course, there was the euphoria of thousands of fans also yelling “Mustard!” when he dropped “TV Off” before the end of the set, which culminated in the sound of a bluetooth device unpairing.

Just about a year after Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, Yungblud took to the Bud Light stage, and gave an energetic performance from the moment he stepped foot in front of the Chicago crowd. From letting a fan play “Fleabag” on guitar with him to an emotional cover of “Changes,” he did everything he could to get the Grant Park crowd moving before the rain hit. 

The biggest crowd of the night, however, belonged to current pop megastar Charli XCX, who headlined the T-Mobile stage just a week removed from releasing “Music, Fashion, Film.” While the next step forward from “Brat” for Charli, everyone embraced the look and that material best, creating a football field-sized dance party in the process. The rain did start to have an effect on the crowd, but most stayed in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd to get a glimpse of one of the biggest stars running right now.

Over at the Airbnb stage, Freddie Gibbs brought substance to his headlining set, joined by only his DJ on stage and opting not to play any games. Gibbs at one point told the crowd “I’ve got a few albums out, Alfredo 1, Alfredo 2. I’m just going to run through everything.” He then proceeded to spit with precision, not missing a syllable or letting the crowd carry any of the work. With a set that tightly landed at 9:59 p.m., he moved with urgency from one track to the next, giving the Chicago crowd no chance to let up on him in the meantime. 

We’re halfway through Lollapalooza 2026, and while rain is delaying the start of day three, there’s still plenty of big moments to come. Stay tuned to Breaking And Entering and follow us on social media for even more.