History
Lollapalooza, derived from the early 20th century American word for “wonderful thing,” was initially developed by Jane’s Addiction Perry Ferrel for their farewell tour in 1990. Unlike previous festivals, Lollapalooza tickets were available for the Lollapalooza tour, not just a single weekend-long event. Lollapalooza combined punk, alternative rock, hip hop and an array of artistic mediums touching upon each major city in the US. Lollapalooza came about during a time when greening efforts and political activism experienced a wave of heightened interest and the Lollapalooza tour provided a forum for speakers to voice their opinions.
Lollapalooza was one of the first major festivals of it’s kind to tour throughout the country each summer. The first installation of Lollapalooza tour paid homage to the “Alternative Nation.” Lollapalooza tickets granted access to top grunge and alternative acts of the early 90′s at the height of the grunge era. Lollapalooza 1991 included a second stage which provided up-and-coming bands exposure; many of which got their big break from the Lollapalooza tour. The Lollapalooza line up for 1991 included- Jane’s Addiction, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, Fishbone, Emergency Broadcast Network and Othello’s Revenge.
Lollapalooza tickets were the hottest item of the summer from 1991 to 1997 when Ferrell decided to focus on his new festival ENIT. Previous Lollapalooza ticket holders began to think that the Lollapalooza Festival was becoming too mainstream, especially with the addition of Metallica in 1997. As a result, the Lollapalooza Festival was put on hold from 1998 until 2003 when a begrudged Jane’s Addiction reunited. Lollapalooza 2003 was met by lukewarm reception and, due to low Lollapalooza ticket sales, was canceled in 2004 giving birth to a new form of the festival.
To Revamp the Lollapalooza image, Ferrell joined forces with C3 Presents to revive interest in the Festival.Lollapalooza 2005 was a single-venue, weekend long festival in Grant Park, Chicago with many more acts than the festival’s touring counterpart. The festival was such a hit that 65,000 Lollapalooza tickets sold for that weekend, ensuring future Lollapalooza’s to come (to view previous lollpalooza lineups click on the Lollapalooza Lineup page.)