History behind Lollapalooza that rocked the city of Mumbai: It first started in Arizona & then moved to Chicago's Grant Park

Did you know that Lollapalooza actually started as a traveling festival, with its very first show held on July 18, 1991, at Compton Terrace in Phoenix (Chandler), Arizona. Organized by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction as a farewell tour, the inaugural 1991 lineup featured Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, and Living Colour. It ran as a touring festival until 1997, was revived in 2003, and found its permanent home in Chicago’s Grant Park in 2005. So, the best time, we guess to visit Chicago is during Lollapalooza!

Lollapalooza 2026 is expected to take place in Chicago’s  Grant Park from July 30 to August 2, 2026. The four-day event will feature over 170 acts across eight stages, showcasing diverse genres including rock, hip-hop, EDM, and pop. Official dates and lineups are typically announced in early 2026. 

Lollapalooza India 2026 unfolded on a scale that went beyond a music festival, turning Mahalaxmi Racecourse into a shared cultural space defined by sound, spectacle and collective memory. What began as a weekend of performances concluded as one of the most significant live music moments Mumbai has witnessed in recent years.

What happened this year

Headlining the final night were Linkin Park , making their first-ever appearance at Lollapalooza India and delivering a much-anticipated Mumbai performance. The band led the main stage through a career-spanning set that included fan favourites such as Numb, In the End, Crawling and Faint, alongside newer material like The Emptiness Machine and Heavy Is The Crown.

As tens of thousands sang along, the performance became the defining crowd moment of the weekend. Addressing the audience, Mike Shinoda said, “Thank you so much for supporting the band over the years, especially the new music. And thank you for patiently waiting for us and consistently asking for us to be here!”

It’s that time of the year when people from across the country travel to the city of dreams to witness the euphoria and bombard social media with pictures and videos. But how did it all begin?

The history of Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza was conceived and created in 1991 as a farewell tour by Perry Farrell, singer of the group Jane’s Addiction. The first Lollapalooza tour had a diverse collection of bands and was a commercial success. It stopped in more than twenty cities in North America.

Lollapalooza ran annually until 1997, and was revived in 2003. From its inception through 1997 and its revival in 2003, the festival toured North America. In 2004, the organizers expanded the dates to two days per city but canceled the tour after poor ticket sales.

In 2010, it was announced that Lollapalooza would remain in Chicago, while also debuting outside the United States, with a branch of the festival staged in  Santiago , Chile, on April 2–3, 2011, where it partnered with Santiago-based company Lotus.

The word Lollapalooza means “an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance”.

Indian artists hold their own

Indian performers continued to command attention on the final day. Folk-metal band Bloodywood drew one of the loudest responses of the night with tracks like Bekauf, Danadan and Halla Bol. Composer and producer Karsh Kale blended tradition and electronica with Train Song, while OAFF x Savera attracted a packed audience with Doobey.