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Overnight rain forces Lollapalooza to trim Cortis and Wolf Alice sets
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
Chicago's Lollapalooza festival suffered significant disruption on its third day (1 August) after overnight rain flooded parts of the grounds, forcing organisers to delay the opening from midday to 3pm local time and cancel most sets scheduled within that window. Festival staff issued two updates as conditions worsened, first pushing doors back to 2pm before delaying further to 3pm while crews worked to clear standing water, with areas such as South Grant Park still waterlogged by mid-afternoon; the North Bud Light stage fared better, while the Perry's stage area was muddy but not flooded.
Despite the setbacks, K-pop group Cortis and English band Wolf Alice both went ahead with shortened performances, playing 40 minutes each rather than their scheduled 50 and 60 minutes respectively. The festival, which began on 30 July with headliners including Olivia Dean, Charli XCX, Tate McRae, Lorde and The xx, also delivered several surprise guest appearances elsewhere on the bill, including Sombr bringing out 5 Seconds of Summer, Smashing Pumpkins reuniting with former member Melissa Auf der Maur, and Lorde inviting Charli XCX on stage for a joint performance of "Girl, So Confusing".
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In short
- Overnight flooding delayed Lollapalooza's day three by three hours.
- Cortis and Wolf Alice played shortened 40-minute sets regardless.
- Festival still saw surprise guest appearances from other artists.
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Coverage recast the episode as a broader operational strain on the event, framing the three-hour postponement as a direct response to mud and standing water rather than a stepwise sequence of announcements, while still noting the same set cuts for Wolf Alice and Cortis and unannounced guest appearances that kept the day's momentum going.
- 3 months ago Organisers confirmed Lollapalooza's Saturday opening was pushed back from midday to 3pm after overnight rain flooded the grounds, with staff issuing two successive delay notices as South Grant Park remained submerged into the afternoon, yet Cortis and Wolf Alice still played trimmed 40-minute sets amid an otherwise smoothly running festival.
Explained simply
Chicago's Lollapalooza is one of the largest annual music festivals in the United States, held in Grant Park and drawing hundreds of thousands of fans across multiple days to see a wide mix of artists. Wolf Alice, a British rock band, and Cortis, a K-pop act, were among the performers scheduled to play.
Outdoor festivals of this scale depend heavily on weather and site conditions, since large crowds moving across grass and paths can quickly turn wet ground into mud and safety hazards. Organisers routinely adjust schedules, stage times or set lengths when conditions require it, to keep the event running safely while limiting disruption to performers and attendees.
This matters because it shows how weather can directly affect live events that many people have planned around, including fans who may have travelled to see specific acts, and it highlights the logistical challenges festival organisers face in balancing safety with keeping to a published schedule.
Coverage · 2 sources
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Originally published by NME as “Lollapalooza shortens Wolf Alice and Cortis sets after severe flooding causes delays”.