It’s a common scene – a stage set up in a park with some brightly costumed band preforming for a sea of look-a-likes, but it’s one you won’t see at Lollapalooza. Since its conception in 1991, Lollapalooza has focused its efforts on a wide breadth of genres, as opposed to festivals such as Riot Fest or Warped Tour, which generally focus their energy on one type of music for one type of crowd. “They had everything from dub step to house” junior Kevin Melone recounted.

But Lolla isn’t entirely free game for anyone to grab – time and effort is spent making sure that while all the shows aren’t the same, they still belong. “I feel like a lot of people that go [to Lollapalooza] listen to the same type of music: it’s not the same genre, but the same category” junior Sabrina Bass said.

In fact, the spectrum of bands is carefully selected, making sure headliners include classic alternative, such as The Cure, long time favorites, such as The Killers, and even industrial, such as Nine Inch Nails. “I think they had a good idea with including Sound Garden… grunge is having a reemergence.. I definitely think we’ll see more of it in the future,” junior Robin Zachary said.

Ultimately, Lollapalooza is one of the few music festivals brave enough not to hide behind a stereotype, and they benefit because of it. “I know a lot of people [who go] are punk or whatever it may be, but I also know a lot of people who go that you’d never suspect,” senior Yvette Garcia said.

Hopefully we’ll see more of this open-mindedness spread in music- once one travels outside of their “genre comfort zone”, they’re sure to be pleasantly surprised.

By Madeline White