Lollapalooza 2026: Grading the Sets and Emptying the Notebook

Every year I cover Lollapalooza, and every year I have reams of notes leftover after writing the main recap. This time I’m going to reheat all those leftovers for anyone still hungry for more. This has to be done kind of quickly (if you’re confused why, just google “state of independent media,” and maybe pour yourself a drink) so in the interest of transparency, I’m going to add grades next to the notes. This is because sometimes I only wrote a joke that sounds mean but I actually liked the set; I contain multitudes. Consider a B to be “gave the audience a good show for their money,” even if I’m not the target audience. And yes, it’s mostly Bs. Also, I’m not grading on a curve, because a worse show in the rain or a difficult venue (Tito’s) is still a worse show. And as always, I try to see at least 15-20 minutes of everybody interesting. In chronological order: Emptying the Notebook on Lollapalooza 2026: ThursdaySB19, photo by Dusana Karam for Lollapalooza Festival SB19 — B P-pop, Filipino group. Blinded in the sunlight, popping and twirling with their eyes half closed. Less polished crowd work than the K-pop groups, but more genuine, too. Boys Noize — B Audience surprisingly drunk...