Lollapalooza 2011

Lollapalooza 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the music event that evolved from a summer tour of concert sheds into a 3-day annual massive music extravaganza in Chicago's Grant Park.

Grant Park, Jackson Blvd. & Columbus Dr., Chicago, IL

Friday, August 5, 2011 through Sunday, August 7, 2011

11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. each day

General Admission 3-Day Passes: $215
VIP Lolla Lounge 3-Day Passes: $850

VIP includes unlimited access to Lolla Lounge North and South with elevated viewing platforms, access to VIP golf car shuttles, beer, wine, cocktails, food, mini-spa treatments and reserved air conditioned restrooms.

(Ticket prices as of 04/2011, subject to change)

Parking is available in either the Grant Park South garage (entrance at Michigan and Madison Avenues) or the Grant Park North garage (entrance at Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street). Alternate parking is available at the Millennium Park Garage (entrance on Columbus Drive between Randolph and Monroe Streets).

CTA bus lines #145 or #151 to Monroe/Michigan stop. Grant Park is also a relatively short walk east from Loop Red and Blue Line subway stops.

Lollapalooza 2011 Lineup

Lollapalooza started in 1991 as the vision of Jane's Addiction lead singer Perry Farrell, who wanted to bring an innovative music festival to amphitheaters across the United States as part of his band's farewell tour. Farrell's desire was to create not just a mega-music concert but to also create a sense of culture and community with various booths and an eclectic mix of music. The initial lineup included Jane's Addiction, Ice-T with Body Count, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and the Rollins Band, and was met with critical and commercial success.

Over the several years following, Lollapalooza continued with a mix of alternative, grunge, hip-hop, electronica, and world music acts, growing in size and diversity with the addition of a side stage. But the novelty started to wear off in the latter half of the 1990s, and efforts to shake things up in 1996 by having heavy metal band Metallica headline, followed by a showcase of "pioneers" of electronica, techno and "trip hop" in 1997 failed to capture the excitement of the first few years of Lollapalooza and the annual event went on a five year hiatus in 1998.

Efforts to revive Lollapalooza and expand into a multi-day touring concert in 2004 fizzled from poor ticket sales, and it was scrapped. Then, in 2005, Farrell ditched the touring idea altogether and decided to do a multi-day festival in one location and make it a destination concert weekend similar to the Coachella and Bonnaroo music festivals. The location chosen was Chicago's Grant Park, where Lollapalooza has taken place annually ever since, playing host to a quarter million music fans.

But critics say that the original creative vision of the first Lollapalooza has been completely lost to crass commercialism, and the criticism can be validated by the choice of headliners for 2011, which include Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, and A Perfect Circle -- obviously not cutting edge choices, but rather bands that can get people in through the gates. Previous headliners in recent years have included Lady Gaga, Green Day, a reunited Soundgarden, Kanye West, and Kings of Leon.

But Lollapalooza's following of the old show business adage, "Give the public what they want," is clearly working -- the festival consistently sells out each year and the festival grossed $17 million in 2010.