Lollapalooza 2021 - Day Three Highlights: Post Malone, Limp Bizkit, Megan Thee Stallion, Young the Giant, Angels and Airwaves, Journey & Marc Rebillet

Photography by: Bobby Talamine
​Writing by: Fiza Javid

Welcome to day three of Lollapalooza, where the sun was beating along with the drums. The day was so relaxing that it almost felt like the start to day one. Little did everyone know that the theme would quickly shift from clean and COVID friendly to the world's biggest raunch-themed festival. Believe it or not, that is precisely what made it thrilling.

The lineup today was truly exceptional, with the old and the new, this audience was taken through a journey of hits, with a day that literally ended with Journey. 

Love was in the air as The Backseat Lovers flowed through the T-Mobile stage. They rocked their long hair, their amps were turned up to 11, they stomped on the stage as they head-banged and rocked back and forth, letting the music rock the audience with them. 

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Young the Giant is a rarity and deserves to go to the moon in his career, even with their 10th anniversary approaching, their songs are still timeless. They shocked the audience by not only playing their hits like "Cough Syrup" but shifting to "Hot in Here" by Nelly (remember how I said the theme was raunch?), and "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. With Sameer's vocals, the audience was in pure bliss, however, as he moonwalked through the stage through the screen visual affects, it was pure art. 

I must say, identity is a key aspect of what is driving many artists careers these days, and I couldn't think of a bigger inspiration than Sameer, who commanded the stage with his melodic vocals. Although he is a California native, he is one of the rare Desi frontmen you will find in an industry that had yet to fully represent ethnically south asian artists. Here I am, a Desi writer, in complete awe of that fact, and he is going to pave the way for more diversity. ​

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Megan Thee Stallion was a true badass and a goddess, and it was her set that truly shifted the festival into the "Hot Girl Summer" it needed to be at. She was wearing a powerful corseted bodysuit with patches of rock T-Shirts sewn together ranging from AC/DC, Ramones, and Iron Maiden. She twerked through all her major hits from  "Savage" to "WAP" alongside her powerful dancers who truly got to strut their stuff.

During her performance it was also Megan heaven, as Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly strolled past the stage to watch her perform. They were shortly followed by Chance the Rapper and Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why, and frontman for band Wallows).

Watching Limp Bizkit was surreal. I had to pinch myself and figure out if it was 1999, and it was deeply exciting. Building up to the set, it was unnerving to know if today's generation would accept him, but when he opened with "Break Stuff," the response was one of the greatest feats for rock that Lollapalooza hasn't seen in years. Three mosh circles formed, men took off their shirts, crowd-surfers jumped into the crowd and it was an all out rage fest. He played his hits "My Way," "Nookie," but along with DJ Lethal did his classic House of Pain "Jump Around," "DMX's "Up in Here," Naughty by Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray,"  and Cypress Hill's "Insane in the Brain."

That wasn't the best part. He ended his set with a debut new song "Dad Vibes." He then ran into the audience handing out T-Shirts, running into Marc Rebillet. It was a riot after the crowd watched these two legends hug, and the future was immediately palpable.

​ Rock is going to come back with major revenge. ​

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Genuinely honorable mentions were Angel's and Airwaves, JBTV Alumni Whitney, Cannons, Cavetown, Jessica, Porches, Michigander, Vnnsa, Jake Wesley Rogers, Vintage Culture, and Tate McRae.

​But then there was Marc Rebillet. 
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Marc Rebillet closed out the GrubHub stage and was the most original, collaborative artist in the entire festival. Rebillet aka "Loop Daddy," who is surely owed a headline at Lollapalooza in the coming years, has made an astronomic rise in the shortest time in the most unprecedented way. He created his career, entirely on his own, starting in 2016, and has since become the king of fan-powered YouTube live-steaming. Within the 5 years, he has garnered nearly 79 million views and 1.7 million subscribers. He is the future of music, and I will tell you why. 

What really gets the audience going about him is the fact that he improvises everything, and every single set is unplanned and different. I can't think of any other artist brave enough to man their own stage at one of the biggest festivals in the world, bringing in a true love of music, however, what truly adds the flavor to his performance is his ability to use carnal sexuality as his strength.

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​Throughout his performance, the screen behind him had sexually suggestive imagery, and I have never seen a crowd of grown men shout "daddy" or "take it off" to a male artist as much as I have here. They were so hyped that Marc went past curfew, ending his set with a loop called "Let Me in I'm Trying to F***." He let a fan on stage who popped a champagne bottle into the audience and toasted with Marc himself. This man can carry a sea of people into the wildest places with the press of a button and true musicianship. 

Be sure to look out for him. With how far he has come in a short period of time, he will be everywhere before we know it, and you don't want to miss a future show. ​

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Post Malone closed the night out at the T-Mobile stage to an audience that was camping since 2pm. He truly proved that you can headline without having to be theatrical, with a trove of dancers or anything. He showed up on stage with his music and his star-power alone, and it was truly satisfying. He opened his set with "Wow" to a jaw dropped crowd, effortlessly flowing through his set.

He got the crowd going when he pulled out his acoustic guitar and teased "Seven Nation Army" sending the crowd into a chanting session like a football game. "Sunflower" was truly the moment everyone was waiting for, as the song was a constant during the pandemic. He ended his set to "congratulations" as the crowd screamed along.

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Meanwhile at the Bud Light Seltzer stage was a phenomenal throwback, Journey serenaded an audience that was happy to sing right back. Saturday was truly a beast, and while I was not able to catch every single performance, Bobby was able to get the full story through photographs, immortalizing the most memorable festival night of the year.

Cheers to another successful festival day and night! Until tomorrow, Lollapalooza!