Lollapalooza team takes five days to organize entire festival
March 29, 2016
Lollapalooza employees call this past planning year a “chill one.” The fest is celebrating its 25th anniversary, in tune, adding a fourth day to the usual three-day fest.
This year, Lollapalooza is hopefully aiming to bring attendees back to the early 2000s due to lack of modern inspiration. The 2016 lineup proved the fest to be incredibly creative in its artist arrangements, choosing mostly Lolla alum. This was especially apparent in the broken “two-year rule,” which formerly prohibited artists from returning to the lineup during consecutive years.
This year’s headliners include Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and Red Hot Chili Peppers. These three groups share commonality: even their biggest fans don’t know their most current songs. All three have been temporarily forgotten at least once in the past eight years, making the sense of nostalgia at Lolla stronger than ever.
The Lollapalooza team is more than proud of their hard work in creating this year’s fest. Kacy Crawford, Lollapalooza talent executive, feels this year was more productive for the team than ever. “We figured this whole weekend out in like, four days,” said Crawford. “That’s how we came up with the idea to add a fourth day. We used our fifth day to figure that out. The whole thing was really easy. We made a couple of calls and we were done.”
Crawford and team stayed primarily in-house with lineup editions. “We didn’t want to waste any time trying to develop new contacts,” said Crawford. “We were on a roll. And it’s not like anyone who attends will really remember seeing these acts the first time.”
This lack of originality came as a shock to many who expected artists such as Kanye West to headline the festival. Tyler Gray, self proclaimed biggest Kanye fan, was shocked to hear West was not added to the lineup. “At first glance I was mad,” said Gray. “Then I saw Bryson Tiller on the lineup, and that’s pretty much the same thing.”
Crawford explained the fest has not had contact with West since his last Lolla performance in 2008. The extended work would have cost the fest another day and a half of schedule arrangement. Gray says he understands this logic.
The Lollapalooza offices welcomed excessive free time after their almost instantaneous planning. Crawford called it “refreshing” and “inspirational” for all of those who work with the brand. In this time, equaling almost six months, Ted, Lollapalooza vice talent coordinator, was crowned all-time Cards Against Humanity king. The office solved the crime of who was stealing out of the office fridge (name disclosed for confidentiality purposes). Steven, staff favorite, took a six-week vacation to the Bahamas and brought along the office stapler, sending pictures everyday of its adventures.
“That was the best part of the year,” said Crawford. “Nothing like waking up and seeing where the stapler is today. We had to use paperclips the whole time, but it was worth it.”
The team’s hard work has paid off. Lolla-goers are ecstatic about Lana Del Rey playing the fest, though most of her own fans agree her last album was an “embarrassing flop.”
Jane’s Addiction, 2000s family favorite, adds a perfect sense of nostalgia. Chris Peterson, Lollapalooza social media correspondent, commented on adding the band to the lineup. “I honestly thought they were all dead,” said Peterson. “We came to the decision to add them just because we’re all kind of hoping the cast of One Tree Hill will show up.”
This four-day weekend is bound to bring fans back to their favorite moments, even if those moments only took place a year ago. For only $350, you can see the artists you saw last year, and the year before. For those skeptical of the recycled lineup, in the words of Crawford, you probably won’t remember it anyway.