Lollapalooza 2025: Day Four Highlights

8/1/2025

Photography by Bobby Talamine
Writing and Editing by Fiza Javid

Grant Park - Chicago, IL
Sunday - August 3, 2025

Day four already? I was exhausted, but genuinely bummed that the fun has to come to an end. This year was not only astronomical attendance wise, with a sea of fans everywhere you turned. It was astronomical in the sense that every single act was here performing like it was their absolute last.

Bobby and I couldn't be more grateful for the incredible performances we marveled at, and we will post an all encompassing highlight reel this week, because these daily highlights only allowed us to go so far.

In a time where the media landscape is increasingly chaotic and heavy, Lollapalooza feels like a refuge, fenced off from the noise. A breathing space for art. Chicago, in all its grit and brilliance, becomes a sanctuary every August—and this festival? It’s the shining star on top of the tree. A cultural mainstay. The benchmark for what a music festival should be.
Bobby and I couldn’t be more grateful for the artists, the crowd, and the moments we captured. While these daily highlight recaps have given you a taste, stay tuned—we’ll be sharing a full video highlight reel this week. Because honestly? We barely scratched the surface.
Day Four Highlights? Let’s go out with a bang:

Landon Barker – Yes, Travis Barker’s son, but please don’t box him in. Landon brought a punk-pop charisma all his own, blending raw vocal emotion with Y2K flair. He’s got the attitude, but he’s also got the chops.

The Criticals – Pure Nashville cool with the kind of crunchy guitar-driven rock that makes you want to grab a cheap beer and scream into the sky. Think early Strokes meets modern angst.
Flowerovlove – A dreamlike set full of glittery alt-pop bops and Gen Z softness. Her energy was infectious, her vocals buttery. She’s one to watch, no question.

Post Animal – A Chicago hometown hero moment. Psychedelic grooves, magnetic chemistry, and the tightest live set we saw all weekend. If you missed it, please look up their JBTV performance. Trust.
Boynextdoor – K-pop excellence meets indie edge. Their choreography was razor sharp, but their presence felt refreshingly organic. The crowd was losing it.

Wild Rivers – Sweet, harmony-rich Americana that hit us right in the heart. Their acoustic moments were so sincere it almost felt like church. Folk-pop heaven.

KATSEYE – A massive debut moment for HYBE’s new global girl group. Sleek, stylish, and vocally stunning—this wasn’t just a performance, it was a statement. Expect to see them everywhere soon.

Artemas – A DJ set with otherworldly visuals, space-age sonics, and an emotional arc that felt more like a film score than a festival set. She pushed boundaries and the crowd followed every beat.

If there was ever a set that felt like a lucid dream, it was The Marías. As the sun began to dip below the skyline, the stage melted into hues of deep red and dusky purple — the perfect backdrop for María Zardoya’s sultry, effortless vocals. Every note felt like a secret being whispered directly into your soul.
They opened with “Calling U Back,” and the crowd swayed in near silence, entranced by the band’s signature blend of bilingual lyricism, woozy guitar lines, and smooth, loungey percussion. María floated across the stage in a silk number that shimmered with every slow step. “Hush” turned the entire lawn into a slow-burn trance, with fans locking arms and falling into rhythm like it was a spell they didn’t want to break.

I kid you not, I have never seen a crowd of CRYING fans as much as I did for the Marias. When I say people were sobbing as the band walked down the aisle, I truly mean they had the para-social experience of a lifetime.

What makes The Marías special isn’t just the music — it’s the mood they create. It was cinematic, it was sensual, it was nostalgic. They aren’t just performing songs, they’re setting scenes. And at Lollapalooza, under the fading Chicago sun, they set the scene of the weekend.

Now for the chaos. The good kind. The kind that makes you forget how tired you are and suddenly find yourself in the middle of a mosh pit shouting lyrics you didn’t even know you remembered. Because A$AP ROCKY didn’t just perform. He detonated.

He burst onto the stage in a helicopter amidst fire bursts and flashing strobes, and smiling like he knew he was about to burn it all down. From there, it was hit after hit — the entire park transformed into a mass of bouncing bodies. Every drop hit harder than the last. Every beat switch was met with screams.

What made Rocky’s set electric wasn’t just the energy — it was the command. He controlled the crowd like a conductor in a symphony of madness. He paused mid-set to talk about Chicago’s role in shaping hip-hop, called for crowd respect and safety (“we lit, but we look out for each other”), and even teased new music, sending shockwaves through the audience.

A$AP Rocky closed out Lollapalooza 2025 with the exact kind of fire and finesse you'd expect from someone who isn’t just an artist — he’s a movement.