Lollapalooza 2016 Chicago 

Lollapalooza 2016 (Chicago), the four day music festival, was a success with great music, decent weather and good times with the kids. There is too much to give you a play by play, so here are a few highlights:

• Hiatus Kaiyote – I dug the soul, funk, jazz and rock of this band (day 1).
• The 1975 – I was dismissive of this band given they were pop, but they are a great pop and ROCK band with a charismatic front man with a very cool look (day 1).
• J. Cole – I knew nothing about this guy, but wow what an entertainer. I assumed this hip hop artist was not big enough to headline, but clearly he was. The crowd was totally into it (day 1).
• Modern Baseball – Thank god rock and roll saved these guys (day 2).
• Lettuce –  A powerful funk band with a bassist who rivaled Flea as the most impressive bassist of the festival (day 2).
• Frank Turner – I had never heard of this guy. A folk singer with a rock and roll heart (day 2).
• Radiohead – This was the number one draw for me. They fully met and exceeded my high expectations. I forget that as huge as these guys are, they don’t have hits, so the audience was not nearly as into it as other main stage acts. For me it was sublime with a great set list and the sound/audio was perfect (day 2).
• Honeysuckle – We caught the end of their set and loved this country/folk band (day 3). 
• Tor Miller – My wife and I made a point of seeing Tor this past winter in Minneapolis because we know his drummer. Over the last few months the band has really jelled and Tor has become a solid front man (day 3).
• The Joy Formidable – This band was an afterthought because the X Ambassadors sucked – The Joy Formidable were a pleasant surprise.  A powerful alt rock band that looked like it belonged on the big stage (day 3).
• Chris Stapleton – I expected him to be good and he delivered. I was surprised at how bluesy he played. He was totally comfortable in a rock setting (day 3).
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – They were born to headline festivals. Spectacular (day 3). 
• Hiam – This band combined transcendent moments with lapses of uninspired pop rock. When they hit it right – they were perfect (day 4).
• Muna –  Front woman Katie Gavin was like a sexy goth librarian (day 4) – a perfect look for this pop band that deals with heavy topics.
• Zhu – LCD Sound System was a stiff, so we closed the night off with this electronic musician who had a nice cameo by Trombone Shorty (day 4).

Overall it was a great festival. I got to see some bucket list acts and discovered some new bands.  The weather threatened, but never got worse than a drizzle. It never got too hot on sunny days.  Thank you Chicago!  Ready to get home an be with my sweetie who made it all happen – miss you.