Lollapalooza 2022’s penultimate day wrapped-up with headliners Willow and J. Cole. Day Three also included Chicago-bred Lil Durk and South Korean K-pop group Together x Tomorrow, two acts that were recently added to the lineup, rounding out Saturday’s festivities in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Alexander 23 Brings His Music Back Home
“I’m from Chicago,” said Alexander Glantz, who performs as Alexander 23 and has become a go-to industry collaborator. “So this is extra special for me.” Funny, Glantz’s harmlessly generic pop-rock didn’t feel that special. Glantz was at his best with heart-on-sleeve power ballads like “Cry Over Boys” and “Somebody’s Nobody,” but the most memorable moments of his set came with safe covers of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”
Meet Me @ the Altar Usher in the Next Generation of Pop-Punk
Amid a lineup touting Willow and Machine Gun Kelly, Meet Me @ the Altar showed that pop-punk isn’t just for major label headliners. The lively emo group formed online in 2015, penning songs together while living apart in Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey. Onstage, singer Edith Victoria, guitarist-bassist Téa Campbell, and drummer Ada Juarez thrived off their natural chemistry and the bubbly energy of their 2021 EP Model Citizen. It was Victoria who stole the show with crystalline vocals that dodged the whiny tone haunting the genre, her neon green and turquoise updo blurring as she moved.
Fletcher Shows Off With Impressive Pop Vocals
Fletcher can sing. The New Jersey-born rising pop star could’ve coasted on the force with which fans belted out “Undrunk” and “Becky’s So Hot.” Instead, she earned her spot on the main stage with a mashup of “Fuck You for Ruinin’ NYC for Me” and Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever.” As she scaled the vocal peak of the single, Fletcher went toe-to-toe with Eilish, letting her voice soar in strength and tenor. With flushed cheeks and modest surprise at the size of her crowd, she no doubt heightened the anticipation for Girl of My Dreams, her upcoming debut album.
Dashboard Confessional Dabble in Nostalgia
As a beloved emo band, Dashboard Confessional are used to relishing in nostalgia. Frontperson Chris Carrabba led the Florida group through a series of iconic singles (“Vindicated,” “Stolen,” “Screaming Infidelities”) and deep cuts (“The Brilliant Dance,” “Again I Go Unnoticed”) that ended with the whole crowd singing along, the lyrics embedded in their brains. “I think some of you are way too young to know these songs,” said Carrabba. As if determined to prove him wrong, audience members lovingly sang along to older hits, including the fan-requested “Saints and Sailors” and closer “Hands Down.” Fans old and young alike swooned.
Lil Durk Returns to His Roots
Growing up on Chicago’s South Side gave Lil Durk a lifetime of stories from which to draw, and all these years later the rapper’s latest 7220, which catalogs several personal tragedies and setbacks, explores how hard it can be to escape the gravitational pull of the streets. So many people pressed in to hear songs like “Shootout @ My Crib” and “What Happened to Virgil?,” both of which hinged on Durk’s trademark auto-tuned hybrid of singing and rapping, that the show had to be stopped more than once to give the packed crowd some breathing room.
Wallows Offer Up Winning Indie
Dylan Minnette and Braeden Lemasters of Wallows have been making music together for about as long as they’ve been working in Hollywood, which is to say, quite a while at this point. A recent hit like “13 Reasons Why” (Minnette starred in the series of the same name) plus the requisite TikTok magic certainly doesn’t hurt prospects, but if all that you knew of the band…
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