New releases, music videos and album news — indie, rap, rock and pop. Always covering Ren, Chris Webby, Sam Tompkins, bbno$, CHINCHILLA, Muse, Yungblud and more.
Everything We Learned During Lollapalooza’s Year of the Flood
A Consequence music critic's on-the-ground report from Lollapalooza 2026 in Chicago details how heavy rain and flooding turned the festival into what the writer calls the most challenging edition since Covid, forcing organisers to delay gate openings and battle waterlogged grounds across three of the four days. The piece, part of a recurring series covering the festival, focuses on how organisers, crowds and performers adapted to the disruptive weather, alongside the writer's usual roundup of standout sets.
Rain affected most of Friday and turned into downpours through Friday evening and Saturday, damaging festival grounds at Grant Park, while Thursday saw more favourable conditions. Staff used hydrovac trucks and skid steers to clear pooled water and wood chips from the site, and organisers twice pushed back the gate-opening time to 3:00pm. The article, written by a critic covering his sixth consecutive Lollapalooza, also previews recurring features such as "Best in Fest" and mentions performers including Charli XCX, Lorde, Olivia Dean and Tate McRae.
In short
- Lollapalooza 2026 faced severe rain and flooding across three days
- Organisers delayed gate openings and worked to clear waterlogged grounds
- Critic's recap covers standout performers including Charli XCX and Lorde
Explained simply
Lollapalooza is a large annual music festival held in Grant Park, a public park in central Chicago. It runs across several days, with multiple stages and performers, and draws large crowds.
The festival is organised by Lollapalooza’s event team, while musicians perform and staff prepare the grounds and manage access. Heavy rain can make the park’s open areas waterlogged, creating practical challenges for both the people working at the festival and those attending.
Weather disruptions matter because they can affect when gates open, how people move around the site and whether performances can go ahead as planned. Lollapalooza takes place in a public park, so restoring the grounds after a wet event can also be part of the organisers’ work.