Lollapalooza Day 4 – We Won’t Go Quietly

At opposite ends of the Lollapalooza Grant Park footprint, headliners Flume and Ariana Grande attracted huge crowds. Performing on a forested stage between the two at the same time, Perry Farrell’s Kind Heaven Orchestra struggled to attract much of a crowd at all. While Farrell, who chugged a bottle wine as he sang with his wife dancing and singing next to him, performed with the same intensity he brought to Jane’s Addiction, the Lollapalooza founder’s band just didn’t have songs that stuck. Still, the large ensemble that included a string section positioned on a multi-tiered stage sounded sharp, and Farrell was extremely animated. Early in the set, he even jumped into the pit to mingle with the fans.

Other highlights from the day included an appearance by Guns N Roses guitarist Slash, who brought his solo act, dubbed Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, to the festival. With singer Kennedy assuming the role of front man, they tore it up, ripping through songs from Slash’s solo albums and playing a mean cover of the GNR tune “Nightrain.”

Country pop star Kacey Musgraves played in front of a huge crowd during a late afternoon set that included songs from her Grammy-winning 2018 album Golden Hour as well as a rousing cover of the iconic Gloria Gaynor hit “I Will Survive.” Her animated performance was a big shift from to indie singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, who preceded her on a nearby side stage. Dressed in black from head to toe, Van Etten presented a cool, almost detached front, though she perked up a bit at the set’s end for a rendition of her spunky hit “Seventeen.”

When the Revivalists hit the stage, the huge bright screen behind the band displayed the message “End Gun Violence.” Given that the band was performing in the wake of mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, it was a poignant moment. The group sounded particularly inspired on tunes such as “All My Friends” and “Catching Fireflies,” the latter of which featured a woozy mid-song saxophone solo and a vigorous, “Freebird”-like jam at its conclusion. “We gotta do better,” said singer David Shaw mid-set as he addressed the mass shootings. “It’s come to that point. It’s actually past that point.” The band concluded its set with the infectious “Wish I Knew You.”  The set was truly inspirational, particularly so when Shaw lambasted the “decrepits in Washington” who haven’t responded in any way to stop the violence afflicting our country.

To see photos from Lollapalooza’s final day, check out our Flickr album and follow us on Instagram.