Lollapalooza took over Chicago’s Grant Park for another insane year for music fans, bringing an insane setlist of artists across multiple genres and incredible sets – which was also dreamed on Hulu & Disney+.
From highly anticipated Lollapalooza debuts, some incredibly talented rising stars, some BIG names as unexpected surprise guests and insane stage set ups – Lollapalooza 2026 was insane.
In case you missed it, here are some of our highlights:
The Smashing Pumpkins perform with Olivia Rodrigo
The Smashing Pumpkins took to the Lollapalooza stage on night two of the festival with a crazy 17 song setlist, featuring “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “Today” which got insane crowd reactions.
Billy Corgan surprised the massive Chicago crowd by bringing out special guest, Olivia Rodrigo, to perform song “33” together with fans praising her for sounding heavenly.
After Lollapalooza, Discogs – the words leading record collecting platform published that they saw an increase of 314% of The Smashing Pumpkins records being added to users want lists.
@thesmashingpumpkins And then, as the rain fell over Lollapalooza, Olivia Rodrigo walked onstage… A surprise acoustic performance of “Thirty-Three” with The Smashing Pumpkins. There’s nothing quite like playing our hometown. Chicago, you gave us a moment we’ll never forget.
♬ original sound - smashingpumpkins
5 Seconds of Summer Perform 30ft in the Air
As 5 Seconds of Summer took a break from their Everyone’s a Star! Tour, they brought all the rockstar energy of being “the biggest boyband you’ve never heard of” to the Lollapalooza stage.
Their 16-song early evening slot on the mainstage brought in a huge crowd as they performed a range of newer songs such as “NOT OK”, “Everyone’s a Star!”, and “’I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again” , as well as old hits such as “Amnesia” “She Looks so Perfect”, and “She’s Kinda Hot”, and finishing off the show with their hit “Youngblood”.
What was most impressive was their insane B-stage that raised 30 ft in the year, displaying the words “Real Fans Save Bands”, a quote from a tweet Michael Clifford made back in 2013 which read “Real bands save fans, real fans save bands” and has stuck with hardcore 5SOS fans ever since.
While they looked slightly terrified while performing 30ft in the air (which Calum Hood later confirmed that “he was pretty terrified out there”), the band absolutely smashed their performances of “Boyband”, “Telephone Busy” and “Evolve.
Before making their way back to the mainstage to later cover Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” – a song of major significance and nostalgia for older fans.
The bands been going for 15 years, yet this was their first time playing Lollapalooza. Discogs reported a 361% increase on adds of 5 Seconds of Summer to want lists after their set… maybe their next time rocking Lolla will be as a headliner?
@5sos we’ll never stop evolving. this is just the start…real fans save bands @Lollapalooza
♬ Evolve - 5 Seconds of Summer
Olivia Dean’s First Ever US Headline (Plus bringing out Sam Fender!)
There’s no doubt Oliva Dean has been SMASHING it lately. The “Man I Need” hitmacker took to the T-Mobile stage at Lollapalooza on day three of the festival, which also marked her FIRST time headlining a festival in the US.
Her 20-song set was an intimate experience where she explained almost every song in a beautiful introduction before performing with soul and passion. To round it off the performance was complete with a fireworks show.
My favourite part had to be when she brought out surprise guest Sam Fender for the live debut of their hit duet, Fender’s “Rein Me In.” – this was definitely one of my favourite surprise guests of the festival!
Zara Larsson's iconic Lush Life Dance with a fan on stage
Zara Larsson has been constantly viral lately on socials, particularly for bringing some insanely talented ad high energy fans on stage to perform the dance from her 2015 hit single “Lush Life” while on tour.
And Lollapalooza was no different. They crushed it. What an iconic moment.
Not only did she smash her 14 song set with popular hits such as “Ain’t My Fault”, “Never Forget You”, and “Symphony”, but it was also the Swedish Singers BIGGEST US crowd to date, with many people saying they hope she returns as a headliner next year.
Discogs reported a 129% increase on Zara Larsson being added to want lists after her insane performance at the festival – so she’s clearly gained even more fans!
Wolf Alice Battle the Floods to Deliver and Insane Set
While their hour long set was unfortunately shortened to 30 minutes on the Saturday due to severe weather conditions causing flooding. Wolf Alice might’ve battled weather but they didn’t miss playing their greatest hits at Lollapalooza.
Their shortened 8 song set consisted of the likes of “Bloom Baby Bloom”, “Yuk Foo” and “Don’t Delete the Kisses”. It's a huge shame they weren't able to play their full set, but we wanted to shout them out as one of our highlighted performances because they ROCKED IT.
Sombr singing She Looks so Perfect with 5SOS
Sombr also made his Lollapalooza debut in 2026, where he rocked the T-Mobile main stage, for a 12-song set at Lollapalooza on the Thursday.
He performed an insane high energy set that consisted of “We Never Dated”, “Homewrecker”, “12 to 12”, and more.
But what sent fans crazy is how he brought out 5 Seconds of Summer on stage to perform “She Looks so Perfect” together. This was the second time the 5SOS boys performed that song that day, as they took to the mainstage earlier that same day. Fans went crazy for the Sombr x 5SOS surprise crossover.
Beabadoobee Previewing Her Harder Rock Sound
The Filipino-British musician, Beabadoobee, rocked the final day of Lollapalooza on the T-Mobile Stage. The alternative rock musician took to the stage to play a 16 song set featuring songs like “Sun Has Set”, “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus” and “Beaches” ahead of her upcoming album Pylon, she gave Lollapalooza a preview of her harder rock sound which is expected to come with this LP.
The most iconic Dual Headliner Crossover between Lorde and Charli XCX
Lorde is no stranger to Lollapalooza, with previous Lolla sets in 2014 and 2017, so it’s safe to say she’s definitely earned her spot as the 2026 headliner for opening night.
Lorde took to the stage to perform a 21 track setlist, featuring hits including “Royals,” “Green Light,” “Supercut,” “David,” “Man of the Year” with “Ribs” closing out her set.
As her surprise guest, Lorde brought out Charli XCX to perform “Girl, So Confusing,”, a Charli XCX remix featuring Lorde dropped in 2024 as part of Charli’s Brat album.
The crowd was blessed with a crossover of Lolla 2026 headliners, with Charli XCX headlining the festival the following day.
The New Zealander singer has been incorporating “Girl So Confusing” into her festival sets as a solo number, until Lolla where she got to belt it out with the British dance-pop star Charli XCX on stage in front of thousands.
It’s safe to say Lolla 2026 was a major success despite the weather trying to ruin it at times!
The line ups the festival offers is constantly top notch, and it's definitely a festival that should be on your bucket list if it's not already.
Now it’s time to await the 2027 announcement.
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