Lollapalooza shines the “Rebel Diamonds” of The Killers, plus Skrillex, Deftones and Tate McRae

The Killers Photos provided by Chris Phelps, Taylor Regulski and Miranda McDonald for Lollapalooza

The fact that it was officially the weekend, coupled with some seriously buzzing bookings, brought the masses out to Lollapalooza earlier than ever and helped the time fly by until The Killers and Future X Metro Boomin co-headlined.

It’s always a tough call to know which side of Grant Park to end on, but a coin toss turned towards The Killers, who considering they were the finale to the inaugural stationary edition, gave a full circle feeling to the festival.

The KillersIn fact, it’s a historic season for the Las Vegas-bred band in general, who are currently celebrating twenty years together and the release of the “Rebel Diamonds” retrospective.

As a result, Brandon Flowers and friends treated Lollapalooza to both a hit parade and obscurities, dating all the way back to the breakout of “Hot Fuss,” a fresh cut crafted specifically for the collection and a couple covers.

That meant “Somebody Told Me,” “When You Were Young,” “Smile Like You Mean It” and “All These Things That I Have Done,” plus “Boy,” Erasure’s “A Little Respect” and Material Issue’s “Very First Lie” in all their alternative yet immediate glory, culminating in “Mr. Brightside” steadily shaping up to be an anthem for the ages.

Speaking of longevity, the Deftones haven’t slowed down a bit since the mid-1990s and made sure to move through “Diamond Eyes,” “Change (In The House Of Flies)” and all the other metal meets experimental rockers up to its latest long player “Ohms.”

Electronic music made major waves with the highly heralded return of impossible to pinpoint DJ/producer Skrillex after a decade-long absence from the event, which was so ecstatic to have him again that they temporarily renamed founder Perry’s stage to Sonny’s and he returned the favor by not only closing an overflowing evening, but performing a relatively intimate by comparison pop-up at noon. 

Pop powerhouse Tate McRae dazzled as she danced, tossed her hair and belted out hook-heavy ear candy, pulled primarily from the personally-penned “Think Later,” in addition to the to the club-ready Tiësto collaboration “10:35.”

The KillersIt may have been sunny when Nightly performed, although it sure did feel like the heat of the night thanks to the Nashville alt-pop trio’s rhythmic delights and instantly contagious choruses off “Wear Your Heart Out,” which wouldn’t be out of place next to The 1975 or LANY. 

The four siblings from the Boyd family, better known as Infinity Song, offered an old school soft rock meets R&B flavor from the start of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” through engaging “Metamorphosis” originals and more.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Dasha added additional country flavors to the fest, specially those from “Austin,” to quote the title of her viral single, that had everyone screaming along and sticking around as she signed autographs and posed for selfies. 

Rapidly emerging hometowners Brigitte Calls Me Baby were getting going right around then, bringing an understated though nonetheless enchanting retro delivery, along the lines of say Chris Isaak saluting the smoky, black and white days of early Elvis Presley or Roy Orbison, but with a contemporary cool and signature stamp that could only come out of Chicago. 

Kathryn Randall contributed to this review.


Lollapalooza continues at Grant Park through Sunday, August 4. For additional details, visit Lollapalooza.com.