Lollapalooza Dropping In On Chicago

After a disastrous 2004 when the entire tour was canceled due to sluggish ticket sales, Lollapalooza will return this summer as a one-off festival in Chicago's Grant Park. The event will be held July 23-24 and Billboard.com has learned that Beck, the Killers, Kings Of Leon and Widespread Panic are among the bands being eyed to appear.

The Lollapalooza Web site will re-launch on Friday (April 1), while the full lineup is expected to be announced three weeks later.

Last year's festival was to be a two-day traveling affair featuring Morrissey, String Cheese Incident, Wilco, the Pixies, Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, among others, but was pulled in late June, less than a month before its planned start date.

How bad were advance ticket sales? "The worst I've ever seen," one promoter who asked not to be identified told Billboard at the time. "I know a market in the Northeast doing two nights that [sold] 450 tickets for the second night and 1,100 for the first. Other counts were less than 1,000 for both nights."

The William Morris Agency and Jane's Addiction leader/Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell are back on board with the 2005 edition and are joined this year by Capitol Sports and Entertainment, which also books Texas' Austin City Limits festival.


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

April fools day, ironic.

I think it's odd that there is a mention of bands playing when everything else posted on other boards it's saying that no band names are going to be released til third week in April.

But hell, so far so good. I'd see Beck, KOl and The Killers.

Added bonus, this is practically in my backyard. I'm less then a block away.

Additional details have come to light about this year's scaled-down version of Lollapalooza, which, as previously reported, will be held July 23-24 in Chicago's Grant Park. According to the event's official Web site, 70 bands are expected to grace five stages. The full lineup will be announced April 22.

For a week beginning Thursday (April 7) or until supplies last, a two-day pass will be available for $35, with a two-ticket limit per credit card. Tickets can be purchased through a link on the Lollapalooza site, which also promises forthcoming information on travel packages.

On the festival grounds, organizers say to expect installations from local and national visual artists, a runway show, the presence of robots and other man-made machines and the screening of a history-spanning Lollapalooza documentary.

The festival is returning this year after a disastrous 2004 when the entire tour was canceled due to sluggish ticket sales. Lollapalooza was to be a two-day traveling affair featuring Morrissey, String Cheese Incident, Wilco, the Pixies, Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, among others, but was pulled in late June, less than a month before its planned start date.

( from Billboard.com )