This morning Lollapalooza announced the lineup for its four-day Chicago festival in August. Headliners are the Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Jack White, and the Arctic Monkeys.
Now that the lineup is confirmed, it feels underwhelming compared to past years. Three of the headliners are Lolla repeaters—this will be the Arctic Monkeys’ fourth go-round since 2009. And while Bruno Mars can carry a Super Bowl halftime show, his catalog doesn’t scream “festival headliner.” Lolla has made some strides in booking women high on the bill, but this year’s highest-ranking female-fronted acts—Chvrches and St. Vincent—appear three lines down from the headliners. Last year’s Lolla was jammed with some of hip-hop’s hottest names, but this year’s bill is all over the place; when the top rap act is Travis Scott, whose biggest successes have been spots on other artists’ great singles, something is awry.
