Lollapalooza 2026 - Day Three Report

by Anthony Kuzminski

Saturday August 1, 2026 - Grant Park, Chicago

The third day of Lollapalooza was delayed by three hours on Saturday due to overnight rain that was still going as fans entered the park when gates opened at 3pm. All day Friday the forecast kept updating and the fans and Lollapalooza team were all expecting to have to evacuate or end the day early which would have led to issues with the key headline performances by the Smashing Pumpkins and Charli XCX. While rain came down during both of their sets, it subsided and a heavier downpour occurred overnight. With cloud-filled skies and a lower temperature, the gates opened at 3pm. To accommodate the delay, most of the acts scheduled before 2pm were unfortunately outright cancelled, notably Sunday (1994), who I had hoped to write about, but the festival soldiered on with many afternoon sets shortened to 30-minutes as well. While initially a disappointment, this allowed acts to streamline their sets to ensure no filler, all killer.

Goldie Boutilier 3:40
After the rain and storms delayed the opening of the festival for three hours, things got kicked off with Canadian Goldie Boutilier, who is a DJ, model, and all-around phenomenal performer. Performing songs from her 2025 album Goldie Boutilier Presents... Goldie Montana, she invigorated the crowd with her dance moves and much needed energy when we all needed it the most.

Wolf Alice 4:00
London's Wolf Alice made the most of their shortened set. Veteran festival stalwarts, they knew where to trim their sixty-minute set to ensure their songs had the greatest impact. It was a strapping thirty-minute set where they left their mark. Draped in a leather jacket and pants, singer Ellie Rowsell and her soprano voice delivered the perfect soundtrack of alternative cerebral music for the crowd. The rhythmic grooves of "Smile" created a dancefloor while "Play the Greatest Hits" and its punky mosh pit drive cut right through the audience opening buried emotions. Closing out their set with "Don't Delete the Kisses" Roswell used her hushed ethereal voice, and it poured throughout the park providing a cathartic moment for the crowd more than making up for the delay.

Momma 4:30
Momma was the most underrated band on the Lollapalooza line-up. Hailing from California but now based in Brooklyn, the duo of Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten take you into a time machine when the nineties alternative women groups shined bright. I remember playing their Welcome to My Blue Sky album for my wife and she did not believe me they were a modern band thinking they were from thirty years ago. Drenched in gorgeous melodies and buzzing guitars with ghostly harmonies, they hearken back to the Breeders, Lucious Jackson, and Liz Phair. The sensual tension of "Last Kiss" and "Medicine" oozed off the stage while "I Want You (Fever)" built up drama with wailing guitars encouraging a sing-along with their arms-to-the-air anthem. The band is still finding their way and may very well be performing on one of the headline stages before too long. Their personal songs share a level of intimacy that listener drowns themselves in as they paint pictures and captures memories with harmony driven guitars that remind us of what it is like to be alive.

Sienna Spiro 5:35
The London born singer took to the stage to the sight of thousands. As the lush and spare instruments started, Sienna Spiro emerged in a green dress before gently starting "The Visitor." On a weekend where excess is rewarded, it was startling to hear songs that were so restrained, personal, and unpretentious. When she sang the lyrics of "I'll always be a visitor in your arms," she held "arms" for an extended period leaving the audience in awe. "Material Lover" from The Devil Wears Prada 2 film and soundtrack and "Time, You & Me" was overwhelming to hear as she let her voice ascend to the heavens singing about a lost love. Her ability to convey the emotional terrain of life with spare musical accompaniment is a testament to the instrument that is her voice, she does more than sing but knows precisely when to curb it and when to let it soar. Do not let the Adele comparisons dissuade you because Spiro is a singular artist walking her own path. The only downside to her set was it was booked on one of the smallest stages and the crowd who showed up was double the size of the area.

Clipse 6:05
The best part of any music festival is the diversity. I did not have Clipse on my radar to see but with the delay, I was able to catch several songs. The duo rappers, who had a Best Album Grammy nomination earlier this year, brought hyped up momentum to the Bud Light stage. Brothers Malice and Pusha T reunited several years back and their reunion album, Let God Sort Em Out (produced by Pharrell Williams), was nominated for several Grammy Awards and praised upon release. Nine of the album's songs made their Lollapalooza set and the crowd was all too happy to see the brothers roaming the stage together not simply playing for nostalgia but writing a new chapter.

Jae Stephens 6:15
The BMI stage was filled with some of the most enthusiastic fans of the weekend when R&B singer Jae Stephens hit the stage. If you were on the lookout for a fresh throwback to the R&B stylings of the nineties ala Brandy, TLC, Marish Carey's dance album, and Destiny's Child, then Jaw Stephens was right up your alley. Two dancers took the stage first before Stephens emerged to roars from the crowd. This was a truly remarkable set and even though it was short, she delivered the goods.

The Neighbourhood 6:45
The California alternative rock band featured singer Jesse Rutherford who hit the stage in a Michael Jordan Bulls Jersey (number 23) as the band kicked into "Greetings from Califournia" for its first performance since 2019. The Lollapalooza set featured several songs being performed for the first time in years. The downbeat rhythm and echo vocals of "Cry Baby" set the stage for an early evening full of simmering bats and infectious melodies. The band even dig out "Flawless" for the first time in twelve years. Rutherford had to do the heavy lifting as gear issues forced him to sing along to instrumentals, but he sold the performance and the crowd loved it.

Geese 7:30
It is hard to think of a rock band with more buzz around them now than the Brooklyn band Geese. How does one define their sound? It is impossible but the arty jam-like atmosphere they conjure when on the stage is something to behold. An enormous crowd was there for their all too brief hour set, but the size was also due to fans prepping for Olivia Dean at the other end. Opening with "2122" Geese started to make their moves, with their gritty guitars serving as the perfect soundtrack for the grey skies. Guitarist and vocalist Cameron Winter even jammed to "25 or 6 to 4", the classic song from the band Chicago, giving a nod to the city and its history of music. The band performed twelve songs, with seven from their 2025 album Getting Killed. Showing off an earthy panache, Geese are quietly devastating; their musicianship slowly forms but never becomes tiresome. The final twenty minutes found the band firing on all cylinders. "Taxes" felt like the closest a jam band could get to a soul revue with bassist Dominic DiGesu served a give and take with drummer Max Bassin. Not merely laying a foundation, the rhythm section sending shockwaves throughout the full set while "Au Pays du Cocaine" and "Trinidad" found Winter and guitarist Emily Green painting landscapes of sound that put their audience right in the brush strokes of creativity. Geese will not be for everyone, but for those who were enchanted it will turn into an obsession.

Olivia Dean 8:30
The stage went dark and the screen had "A performance by..." appear and moments later, Olivia Dean appeared. The breezy British singer and her brand of pop soul is not what many would attribute with headliner status at Lollapalooza, but she fit the role well. She was deeply engaged with the audience, speaking to them regularly, telling stories and taking them inside her music. In speaking about her 2025 album The Art of Loving, "The whole point of this album was trying to figure out what love really means to me". The opening portion of her set included "Nice to Each Other," "Lady Lady" and "So Easy (To Fall in Love" which were performed with an extensive group of musicians. The fist punching rhythm was accentuated by the swelling strings and overseeing all of it was Dean and her towering voice. Towards the end of the set, she brought out Lollapalooza alum Sam Fender, and they performed "Rein Me In," which this writer unfortunately missed as you will read below, but Dean's set was surprising because she proved that she deserved to be there.

DJ Trixie Mattel 9:20
Drag Queen Trixie Mattel took over the Airbnb stage and amidst the trees, her DJ set was one of Saturday's highlights. The DJ scene has been a big part of Lollapalooza since returning to Chicago two decades ago. Whether it is her comedy, reality tv appearances, her style or her musicianship, Mattel is an icon anyway you shake it. When she arrived at the DJ table, she began spinning her records and was followed with elaborate backing dancers, a gigantic sound system and more colorful lights than had appeared all weekend. Merging and segueing tracks from 2000s era pop, Mattel knew her audience and they loved her for it. Despite a good portion of the ground covered in mud, the crowd created a frenetic dance floor. As the jams spun, with Beyonce, Madonna and Kylie Minogue in the mix, the crowd danced like no one was watching. As the kaleidoscope lights encompassed everyone, and with Mattel as our master of ceremonies, the night slowly ended, but the smiles endured as everyone made their way home.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He has seen over 1,000 concerts in his life and has covered Lollapalooza in depth for fifteen years. He can be followed on Twitter

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