Lollapalooza 2016 Complete Festival Guide

It's a very special year for Lollapalooza as it celebrates its 25th anniversary in Chicago's historic Grant Park. To mark the illustrious occasion, producers of the event are adding an extra day of music, food and festivities and will feature more than 170 musical performances, including the return of the singer who started it all way back in 1991. But with the prospects of more than 100,000 fans attending daily, it's more important than ever to find out how to get there, who to see and what to do at one of the largest and most iconic music events. This festival guide is designed to remove much of the confusion and provide practical information to one of the biggest summer music festivals of the year.

For more information on Lollapalooza 2016, including full lineups, photos, videos and more visit Eventful.com.

Dates: July 28-31, 2016

About Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza is a groundbreaking music festival co-founded by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and producer Dave Jerden. First held in 1991 as part of what would be a farewell tour for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, the inaugural event held at several cities across the country also featured many other popular bands of its day, such as Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Living Colour and Fishbone. Since then, several more leading music artists have appeared at the annual event, including Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Eminem, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga and Pearl Jam. Although the first iteration of the annual event went dark after 1997, it was first revived in 2003 and then again in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park, where it has been held ever since. Today, Lollapalooza is a four-day music festival managed by Austin-based C3 Presents and is one of the largest music festivals in North America. Lollapalooza went international in 2011 with the festival in Santiago, Chile and now has annual events in four other international cities. Lollapalooza also provides a high profile platform for several local non-profits on the festival grounds through its Lolla Cares program.

Related: 48 Hour Guide To Chicago

Among the headliners confirmed for this year's Lollapalooza are Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LCD Soundsystem and J. Cole. In all, more than 170 musical acts are scheduled, with several other notable bands and soloists like Future, Martin Garrix, Major Lazer, Ellie Goulding, Haim, Grimes, Disclosure, Hardwell, Lana Del Rey, Lindsey Stirling and the band that started it all, Jane's Addiction, featuring original members Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins.

Single day general admission tickets and general admission four-day tickets are sold out. However, single day VIP and four-day VIP tickets remain available, as well as four-day platinum tickets and hotel packages, which includes a four night's stay at a Chicago hotel, choice of four-day general admission, VIP or Platinum tickets, official merchandise and other benefits. Children 10 years old and younger will be admitted free with a ticket holding adult.

Wristbands

Ticketholders will be shipped a wristband two to four weeks prior to Lollapalooza. Ticketholders are advised to activate their wristbands in order to ensure a smooth screening process before entering the festival grounds. Wristbands are intended to be used by the original purchaser, must be worn throughout the festival and are void if removed or tampered with. Anyone wearing an altered wristband will be escorted away from the festival grounds. Valid ticketholders are allowed to re-enter the festival up to three times per day upon initial entry, but must be scanned upon exit in order to re-enter the same day.

Ticketholders also have the option to add Lolla Cashless, eliminating the need to use cash for food, drinks and merchandise. Citi cardmembers who sign up for Lolla Cashless with their Citi credit card automatically receive perks like access to the Citi Cardmember Lounge and Access to the Citi Fast Lane at the festival entrances and at the Lolla Merchandise Store.
Promoters of Lollapalooza further advise fans not to buy tickets from Craigslist, StubHub or from scalpers. If the original owner sells or gives away a wristband, Lollapalooza cannot remedy any problems. Refunds and/or exchanged are not allowed after a ticket has been purchased.

Aftershows

Most tickets for the 2016 Lollapalooza Aftershows are sold out, but music fans can still enter drawings to win a pair of free tickets. The Aftershows will be held at multiple Chicago music venues over six days from July 26-31. Among the featured events are Jane's Addiction at the Metro, M83 at the Vic Theatre, Flosstradamus at the Aragon Ballroom and Rufus du Sol at the Annex Nightclub.

The Venue

Lollapalooza will be held on 115 acres in historic Grant Park, between downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan. The main entrance is at Michigan and Congress, near the Fine Arts Building and a second entrance at Columbus and Monroe, near the Modern Wing entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The event will feature several food and merchandise vendors and live music on eight different stages. The headliners are slated to appear at either the Bud Light stage near the northern border of the festival or the Samsung Galaxy stage near the southern border. Water stations with free refills will also be on hand, as well as secure on-site storage lockers with charging capabilities near Buckingham Fountain, medical assistance and other guest services. For children and their parents, a Kidzapalooza will also be on the festival grounds, with a number of family-friendly activities and special events for all ages. Attendees are encouraged to set up a MyFest account for customized scheduling of events and to review the festival map or official mobile app for directions to any specific attraction or service.

Lollapalooza continues to offer ticket/hotel packages but two of the five hotels are sold out. The remaining hotels as part of the ticket package are the Intercontinental Chicago, JW Marriott Chicago and the Peninsula Chicago. Fans who already have purchased tickets can still find a room in Chicago through the Lollapalooza-Hotels for Hope search engine, although the recommended hostels are already booked. Although room availability may change daily, hotels like Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown-Magnificent Mile, Acme Company Chicago and Freehand Chicago were advertising rates under $200 for Lollapalooza. Fans can also visit their own favorite travel site such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline for room availability.

With more than 150,000 music fans expected to attend, getting to Lollapalooza can be either a fairly smooth process, a challenging one fraught with stress and/or delays or something in between. Coupled with the typical summer weekend traffic in downtown Chicago, ticketholders must decide which method of transportation will serve them best with the most efficient amount of time, cost and convenience.

By Public Transportation

"L" Train

Promoters are advising fans to take public transportation via the Chicago Transit Authority or CTA to Grant Park, most importantly the "L" trains. Each of the color coded "L" routes have train stations in the system's rectangular Loop, the primary transit hub in downtown Chicago. The closest stations to the main entrance are Jackson on the Red Line and Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren station on the Blue or Red Lines. For the secondary entrance at Columbus and Monroe, the closet "L" station is the Adams/Wabash station about a half-mile away. Attendees hoping to take CTA trains or buses should familiarize themselves with the Authority's fare structure for single ride, day passes and multiple day passes. Festival promoters say the best options are single or multiple day passes using a Ventra card.

Metra

Chicago's commuter railroad is offering an unlimited four-day train pass for $20 for Lollapalooza. Passes go on sale beginning July 6 at all ticket windows, including all downtown and outlying stations and via the Ventra app. Metra operates two train stations within walking distance of the festival, at the La Salle Street station near West Congress Parkway and the Van Buren station, which is located within Grant Park.

Buses

Although bus service may be needed for many festival attendees, bus riders can expect heavy traffic in some parts of Chicago along the way. Because of the anticipated congestion in and around Grant Park, bus service is not recommended. Nevertheless, Lollapalooza suggests using the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)'s trip planner GoRoo for route and real time information. The two bus systems with service to downtown Chicago are the CTA and the Regional Transportation Authority's (RTA) Pace suburban bus service.

By Bike

Biking is one of the most eco-friendly ways to get to Lollapalooza. Ample bike parking will be offered free in conjunction with KIND just outside the main festival entrance and bicyclists are reminded to bring a lock to secure their bike. Additionally, Bike and Roll Chicago are offering discounts on bike rentals, guided bike tours and Segway tours for Lollapalooza attendees,

By Car

Event promoters say convenient and security patrolled 24-hour parking will be available for cars near Grant Park in four garages, in addition to the North Garage at Soldier Field. Advance discounted parking passes and parking information can be found at SpotHero's Lollapalooza Parking Page. There is no ADA parking available on the festival grounds. The closest full accessible garages are at the Millennium Park Garage on Columbus between Monroe and Randolph, the East Monroe Street Underground Garage at Monroe and Columbus and the Grant Park Underground Garage entrances at Michigan and Madison and at Michigan and Randolph. Additional parking options for Lollapalooza can be found through ParkWhiz.

By Taxi/Ridesharing Service

Taxis will be available through the music festival and promoters say taxi riders can get dropped off at Michigan Avenue at Congress. Both Lyft and Uber operate ridesharing services in Chicago and the latter, an official sponsor of Lollapalooza, is offering a free first ride for Lolla fans.

Transportation

As noted before, no ADA parking is available on the festival grounds but it can be found at three parking garages at the Millennium Park Garage, East Monroe Street Underground Garage and the Grant Park Underground Garage. However, concert promoters strongly encourage using the CTA's bus lines and/or rail stations since all are equipped with accessible services.

At Lollapalooza

Concert promoters say special designated lanes at the festival entrances as indicated on the festival map will be available for people living with disabilities. These lanes are identified with wheelchair signs. Volunteers will also be on hand to provide directions to the lanes.

The Lollapalooza Access Center will be located inside the festival grounds on Columbus Drive, just west of Buckingham Fountain. The Access Center will provide a number of services, such as providing large print programming information and festival maps identifying all viewing areas for people with hearing or mobility limitations and will have available a power outlet to recharge power wheelchairs. Staff at the Access Center can also provide ASL interpretations of performances and issue a specially colored wristband that allows access to the wheelchair platform or the dear and hard of hearing areas. Both areas are only available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For questions about ADA access and accommodations, patrons are asked to email event staff at access@lollapalooza.com.

Food, Beverages & Merchandise

A wide assortment of food, beverages and merchandise will be available throughout the festival grounds. Most of the food and beverage options will be found at Chow Town, where several well known local vendors will be lined up near Columbus Drive on either side of Buckingham Fountain. Attendees can expect to find a number of tasty foods items including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options from businesses like BJ's Market & Bakery, Billy Goat Tavern & Grill, Frank 'n 'Dawgs, Graham Elliot Bistro, Lou Malnati's Pizza and Wow Bao. Attendees can also find several booths across the entire festival grounds selling beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, particularly near the Bud Light and Samsung stages. Attendees should bear in mind that not all vendors accept credit cards, making Lolla Payless a sensible payment option.

Just beyond the main entrance, attendees can also visit the onsite Farmer's Market, featuring fresh organic produce from local farmers and an Art Market offering environmentally responsible merchandise from several vendors. Also past the main entrance next to Buckingham Fountain is the General Store, offering items like sunscreen, rain gear and other last minute items.

Related: Foodie's Guide To Chicago