Lollapalooza Diversifies and Conquers: 170,000 Attend Festival in Chicago's Grant Park

Lollapalooza, the three-day music and art festival, held its second stationary performance (Lollapalooza used to be a touring festival) in Chicago's historic Grant Park. The show was an unqualified success. Anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 music lovers found themselves, each day, shuffling between eight different stages to catch both up and coming acts (My Morning Jacket, Wolfmother, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs) and music-industry standards (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blues Traveler, Death Cab for Cutie, Ween, Sleater Kinney). In all, 130 acts played the festival, however, one of the biggest hits at Lollapalooza this year was not the litany of rock and alternative legends, but the amount and quality of hip-hop music represented.

On Saturday August 5^th, the concert's second day, Lollpalalooza introduced to the stage hometown favorites Common and Kanye West (West ended up headlining Saturday's show) as well as the Bay Area's underground legends: Lyrics Born and Blackalicious. Lyrics Born turned in one of the most energetic performances of the day, showcasing a live funk band and his own rapid-fire vocal delivery.

Lady Sovereign, a youngster out of England and recently signed by Jay-Z, debuted her new unique approach to hip-hop in front of a packed stage of fans-many of whom had not heard of her before that day. Gnarls Barkley, one of the most anticipated acts of Lollapalooza, also played before an even larger-than-expected crowd, tolling off the hits from their album, St. Elsewhere. At one point, Cee-lo Green (lead singer) asked the crowd which songs they wanted to hear and then remembered, "Hell, we only have one album."

The energy and verve of Saturday seemed to cement a concrete place for hip-hop at Lollapalooza, as well as other festivals around the country. And the sentimentality of two of Chicago's own (Common and Kanye) being able to close out the day played well with both the crowd and the artists themselves. Both Common and Kanye expressed appreciation and awe to the audience concerning their rise from humble beginnings to the headlining stage at Lollapalooza. And their transformation seems to be indicative of hip-hop, itself.

Lollapalooza is festival about music, yes, but also about the diversity of our culture. And the diversity in Lollapalooza's line-up this year was staggering. Included among the 130 acts were indie-bands (My Morning Jacket and Death Cab for Cutie), a bluegrass trio (Nickel Creek-who threw in a cover of Brittany Spears' Toxic), Matisyahu (a Hasidic rapper/reggae star), Andrew Bird (guitar/violinist), a jam-band (Umphries McGee) and countless other acts and genres (things like: dance pop). And ultimately everyone wins.

People who came to watch quirky rockers Ween play could also stay for Lady Sovereign. And fans who came to support Kanye West's return home, could also catch Oklahoma City's own Flaming Lips. And while these pairing seem sometimes incongruous and certainly hard to orchestrate, lets hope that it is not a once in a lifetime occurrence.