Foo Fighters’ “Medicine,” Brockhampton’s possible farewell close a fantastic Lollapalooza

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters photo provided by Roger Ho / Lollapalooza 2021

As far as the 30th anniversary aspect of Lollapalooza goes, no band better fits the bill than the Foo Fighters, who besides appearing at several of these extravaganzas throughout the decades, but maintain a paramount level of popularity that’s rarely seen in such cross-generational proportions.

However, Dave Grohl and the gang weren’t a guarantee to headline the final night of the festival after a team member’s COVID case pulled the plug on a performance at The Forum a little over two weeks ago, which has thankfully run its course and will be rescheduled.

Health scare aside, the alternative rockers did indeed make it to Grant Park for a blistering set that spanned the band’s earliest post-Nirvana days through 2021’s “Medicine At Midnight” and even a Dee Gees alter ego (thanks to a winking nod to the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing”).

Foo Fighters

Brockhampton photo provided by Mickey Pierre-Louis / Lollapalooza 2021

That meant everything from drummer Taylor Hawkins tackling Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” to Grohl’s daughter Violet nailing X’s “Nausea,” to the group’s own “Breakout,” “My Hero” and “Best Of You,” all of which found the fellas firing on all cylinders as fists flew in the air.

In fact, it was astounding to count how many hits the Foo Fighters notched since the mid-1990s, along with those that have since transcended time to become cultural touchstones, such as the machine gun onslaught of the grand finale, “Everlong,” which came across as insistent and transcendent as the day it was recorded.

If the rumors bidding farewell following the “Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine” Tour are true, Brockhampton might not have a chance at equal longevity, though that didn’t stop this multi-cultural hip-hop collective, representing various orientations, to shatter genre stereotypes and rewrite history with a crew of highly-skilled rappers constantly volleying achingly personal or socially conscious rhymes.

Going back to the alternative side of the dial, Modest Mouse also was a blast from the past that remain fertile in the present, thanks to stomping, snarling tunes from “The Golden Casket,” which marked these frequent performers’ first fresh batch in half-a-dozen years.

Irish singer/songwriter Dermot Kennedy is also no stranger to Lollapalooza, but he’s experienced exponential growth from the days of dropping a series of folk-flavored indie rock singles and EPs, to a richly expressive long player, “Without Fear,” which was on display with gripping delivery.

Hip-hop duo EarthGang evoked shades of Outkast turned up a couple notches, while Brittany Howard proved no matter if she’s fronting Alabama Shakes or giving it a go alone, there hasn’t been a more distinctive and hypnotic roots rockin’ voice in recent memory.

Local rapper G Herbo earned the MVP award of the weekend, not only appearing alongside Miley Cyrus and Marshmello, but assertively taking the reins of Young Thug’s slot, who was bumped up following the downward spiraling DaBaby’s much-deserved dismissal.

Foo Fighters

Photo provided by Mickey Pierre-Louis / Lollapalooza 2021

That’s not even taking account the dozens of others who appeared, let alone the hundred-plus on the prior three days or the many environmental, philanthropic and economy-stimulating initiatives that’s always kept Lollapalooza an industry leader.

The Illinois Sustainability Award recipients continued the Rock and Recycle Program, had a wide-array of water refilling stations throughout the grounds and partnered with REVERB to promote general waste reduction while spreading climate change awareness.

There was even word that the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund would invest $2.2 million for over 100,000 students in Chicago Public Schools, an alliance with Musically Fed to bring unused backstage meals to the homeless and hungry, along with an inaugural Digital Marketplace, featuring a wide array of NFT collectibles for fans to further support their favorite artists.

Though COVID-19 still remains in the forecast, hopefully the vaccine or negative test requirement alleviated much of that risk, while anywhere near 2019’s local economic impact of more than 247 million dollars would be just as essential for this struggling city as it was to finally have Lollapalooza and live music back home where it belongs.


For upcoming Lollapalooza announcements, visit Lollapalooza.com.

For additional information on Foo Fighters, visit FooFighters.com.