Lollapalooza is one of the crown jewels of the modern festival era. We may not love the lineup every year, but we certainly can see how, over the past decade, the Chicago production has redefined what a multi-stage, multi-day, multi-artist event can be, especially in an urban setting. The long-running Lollapalooza (which began as a traveling festival in the '90s) is what similar festivals often compare themselves to, especially newbies like the Summer Rocks events that may be hitting St. Louis next year.
It's a fun festival in a fun city -- now made even better with 100 percent more Outkast. For real. And we're salivating.
See also: - Eminem, Skrillex Leaked as Lollapalooza Headliners; World Shrugs - Attention LouFest Organizers: Please Get OutKast, Thanks
Wednesday morning, the Lollapalooza team announced the full lineup for this year's festival, scheduled for August 1 through 3 in Chicago's Grant Park. We told you last week that Lolla likely would feature Eminem, Skrillex, Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon as headliners, thanks to an information leak by Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot. But while we fastidiously corroborated those efforts with explanations as to why it was feasible for those musical acts to hit Chicago in August, we didn't add Outkast to our detective work.
To be fair, Outkast wasn't part of the Lolla rumors (unless you had really, really good eyes), but we should have seen it coming. In January, we reported that Outkast would reunite for a summer tour to celebrate twenty years of great music and energetic shows. And that's awesome news!
But not just for Chicago. St. Louis Outkast fans should care about this, too.
Though the aforementioned, Lolla-wannabe festival Summer Rocks isn't a done deal, the Gateway City already has a music haven ready to go. Our very own LouFest has upped its game every year since its inception in 2010, with its biggest acts yet -- the Killers, Wilco, the National, Alabama Shakes, Fitz and the Tantrums -- playing Forest Park in 2013. Why the big jump in talent in 2013? Because St. Louis' LouFest folks joined up with C3 Presents, a major talent and production company known for organizing massive events. The partnership increased attendance and helped put LouFest on the national must-see festival radar.
But what about Outkast? Well, here's the thing -- C3 produces not only LouFest, but also Lollapalooza.
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