![\"Whethan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785709692_557_0x0.jpg\")
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Whethan poses backstage prior to a performance on day three at Lollapalooza. Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n
Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest thing in the world to me!\u201d said electronic artist, DJ, producer and Chicago native Whethan, who performed Saturday at Lollapalooza for the third time despite rain. \u201cGrowing up, I just idolized it. It was like the one bucket list spot,\u201d he said of the destination festival based in his hometown. \u201cIf you\u2019re playing at Lolla, they\u2019re such curated and amazing lineups – with all genres. So, to be on it is just truly an honor. And I always want to show up for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lollapalooza<\/a> has steadily built one of the strongest, most recognizable international brands in the festival sphere, with Whethan performing in Chicago in 2017 and 2019 alongside sets at Lollapaloozas Chile, Brazil and Argentina.<\/p>\n While he grew up around the festival with plenty of opportunities to attend as a young fan, arriving in Grant Park for the first time actually took on a much different form, the first of many fond memories on stage at Lollapalooza.<\/p>\n Whethan poses backstage prior to a performance on day three at Lollapalooza. Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of funny. I had just started getting to that age where I felt like it was OK for me to go to Lollapalooza. But right as my friends Louis the Child were playing it<\/a>, they brought me for my first time. I was like 15 or 16 years old. So, for my first time, I actually got to go with them and see everything. And then I ended up playing a mini set with them there too. So, my first time was DJing somehow,\u201d said Whethan with a smile, referencing fellow Chicago-based electronic artists Louis the Child during the look back. \u201cI remember in 2019, I got to bring this crazy flower production that we had spent all of this time on and that was such a memorable show. Getting to travel to Brazil, Chile and Argentina on the Lollapalooza circuit was a dream. Getting to see those crowds receive the music the way they did was truly life changing. So, I\u2019m honored to be back. And I\u2019m ready to just show up for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Following an abbreviated Saturday set on Perry\u2019s stage, one moved about an hour later after heavy rainfall forced an amended schedule, Whethan performed an aftershow at Chicago nightclub Sound-Bar, with Louis the Child taking the stage for one of their own about a half mile west on Ontario Street at Tao, as Lollapalooza dominates weekend nightlife across the city even after hours.<\/p>\n As rain fell on day two at Lollapalooza, some lucky fans were able to seek refuge at T-Mobile’s nearby Club Magenta. Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n Rainfall actually began late Friday during concurrent headlining Lollapalooza appearances by pop star Charli XCX and 90s alternative rockers, and Chicagoland natives, Smashing Pumpkins.<\/p>\n By midday Saturday, nearly four inches of rain impacted some parts<\/a> of the Chicagoland area, with Grant Park itself under water as the day began. Doors were pushed a few hours ahead as crews worked to drain the field and prepare it as safely as possible for about 100,000 concertgoers. While it was muddy, that the Saturday performance slate happened at all seems like a minor miracle. Updates went out with actual notice via the Festiverse app, socials and Lollapalooza website, with clarity delivered despite the turbulent weather.<\/p>\n Friday afternoon, prior to the rain, Canadian indie rockers Mother Mother<\/a> offered up a one hour set on the Tito\u2019s Handmade Vodka stage at Grant Park\u2019s Petrillo Music Shell, part of a quasi-rock resurgence shaping the 2026 Lollapalooza lineup. Thursday night, the group tore through a raucous aftershow set on stage at Chicago\u2019s Park West.<\/p>\n Mother Mother poses backstage prior to a performance on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, July 31, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the most fun, magical gig we\u2019ve had in years honestly,\u201d said singer, songwriter and guitarist Ryan Guldemond. \u201cI think because it was late. So, you\u2019re out of your head. And you\u2019re tired. So, you can\u2019t overthink it. It was a small, sparse club show. But the 200 or 300 people that were there were like superfans. So, it felt like a secret handshake,\u201d he said, summing up the evening with a look ahead to the festival itself. \u201cSmashing Pumpkins should be cool. Pretty legendary.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to its arrival in Chicago as a destination festival in 2005, Lollapalooza toured the country as a tastemaking showcase for alternative music and more in the 1990s, with Smashing Pumpkins headlining the fourth installment in 1994.<\/p>\n While Corgan joined<\/a> 90s colleagues Porno For Pyros on stage in 2022, Friday night in Chicago marked the first Smashing Pumpkins performance on a Lollapalooza stage in 32 years.<\/p>\n Smashing Pumpkins perform on stage on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, July 31, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n \u201cAre you with us tonight?\u201d asked frontman Billy Corgan rhetorically of the assembled hometown crowd early in the set, his mic finally kicking in following apparent issues during opener \u201c1979.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cBullet With Butterfly Wings\u201d followed, with the Pumpkins delivering a potent look back at the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album to start the set. That album, now diamond certified, selling in excess of 10 million copies in America alone since its release nearly 31 years ago, proved a powerful start to a star-studded set which boasted guest appearances by rocker YUNGBLD, pop star Olivia Rodrigo and former Pumpkins\/Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. <\/p>\n Corgan strapped on an acoustic guitar for \u201cDisarm\u201d as YUNGBLD joined for a second from 1993\u2019s Siamese Dream album in standout deepcut \u201cLuna.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cChicago. The great state of Illinois\u2026\u201d mused guitarist James Iha, summing up the experience in trademark deadpan fashion. \u201cThis is awesome.\u201d <\/p>\n While Smashing Pumpkins rose to prominence at the height of a major label system in a much different music industry era prior to the advent of online streaming or social media, artists today are forced to take a wholly different, far more hands on approach to concepts like branding and the business side. <\/p>\n Claire Rosinkranz poses backstage following a performance on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, July 31, 2026 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL<\/p>\n Photo by Barry Brecheisen<\/p>\n For California singer songwriter Claire Rosinkranz<\/a>, 22, who performed her latest single \u201cRocket\u201d this weekend on stage at Lollapalooza, the key lies in delegation to a carefully-curated, handpicked team which helps her foster the idea of authenticity.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just so young. And it\u2019s really easy to get swallowed up in that system,\u201d noted Rosinkranz both astutely and accurately. \u201cHonestly, I have worked with people where I didn\u2019t even really know what they did. So, I have been very intentional about rebuilding a team that I have a really good relationship with. People that I know I can go to and what I\u2019m going to them for,\u201d she explained. \u201cI really appreciate being able to have any idea, feeling or vision and knowing exactly the person for each thing to be able to execute it. So, I think having people that you actually would like to exist with and create with and be friends with is really important, at least for me. And, through that, you have the ability to have honesty, which is essential to be able to execute anything authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n ForbesSB19, Sombr, Wet Leg And Empire Of The Sun Kick Off Lollapalooza 2026By Jim Ryan<\/a><\/p>\n