In our years of attending Lollapalooza, one thing always remains true: there’s never a dull moment. This year, it bore the only lineup that provided the singular experience of raving in the woods to Romy (one half of old high school favorites The xx), bearing witness to the latest stratospheric chapter in Chappell Roan’s history, and imploding under the weight of Blink-182’s cringy middle school humor right in the heart of Downtown Chicago, all in the span of four days.

Nestled in those four days were countless moments for artists of Asian and Pacific heritage to shine. After our interview with Lollapalooza’s co-chair Etty Lau Farrell in 2022, in which she touched on her hopes to continue cultivating a platform for inclusivity in the music industry, the lineup for Lollapalooza 2024 hit a new high. Artists of the global majority made up the greater part of the festival’s top billers, including Stray Kids, who marked Lollapalooza’s third K-pop headliner in a row (and we’ve got our fingers crossed that next year will be one for the girlies. Twice, anyone?).

But Stray Kids and fellow K-pop group IVE weren’t the only Asian representation this weekend. Read on to catch our roundup of standout acts, from rockers HANABIE. to jazz songbird Laufey, who showcased the wide range of talent this community has to offer.

Laufey

Laufey stunned in a ruffled Rodarte piece for her late afternoon set backed by the Chicago Philharmonic, who made history this weekend as the first orchestra to perform at Lollapalooza. With the setting sun casting a halo around her, Laufey floated across the catwalk in a swan-like saunter through tunes like ‘Let You Break My Heart Again’ and ‘Promise.’

The Icelandic-Chinese songstress then plucked British soul singer RAYE, who had just wrapped up on the neighboring Tito’s bandshell, for a delectable duet of classic Jimmy Van Heusen standard ‘It Could Happen To You.’ The elegant duo glowed in their gowns of contrasting sunrise blush and midnight blue, swinging and scatting like a match made in jazz-pop heaven.

Nearing the close with ‘Bewitched,’ the eponymous single from her Grammy-winning album, Laufey’s breezy performance was a relief in the Chicago heat. It’s safe to say we loved her ‘From The Start.’

The mellow show was the calm before the storm brought by the ‘Thunderous’ Stray Kids, who headlined T-Mobile on Friday night.

Stray Kids

‘Thunderous’ they were, reviving the spirits of steadfast fans who, despite overnight showers, began camping at 11 pm the night prior in the hopes of securing a coveted spot at barricade. Battle flags and war cries set the stage for K-pop heavy hitters Stray Kids to boom into the night with ‘S-Class’ and ‘Super Bowl.’

“Who missed Stray Kids?” teased leader Bang Chan, backed by a live band interlude.

From there, the setlist powered through both new and old, with new Latin-inspired title track ‘Chk Chk Boom’ (and its reverberant Festival Ver.) making itself at home, too. Fire swelling as they roared through hit after hit, Stray Kids prove that, while you’re certain to leave a Stray Kids show well-fed, the Kids themselves will always be hungry for more.

Catch our full review here.

BoyWithUke

Devotees packed Tito’s for the formerly elusive Korean-American TikTok sensation Charley Yang, better known as BoyWithUke. He opened with ‘Lucid (interlude)’ and ‘Camouflage’ from his most recent album, bouncing across the stage in contrast to his brooding sadboy sound. Yang then countered the moody numbers with jokes. A call-and-response bit prompted the audience to repeat after him: “Hi.” Hi. “Hello.” Hello. “Bush did 9/11.”

The uke that made him famous then took centerstage, sparking singalongs to hits like ‘Migraine.’ Shedding his signature LED mask—and shirt—to perform ‘Trauma,’ Yang took a moment to first get vulnerable.

“Growing up, I did not have a lot of money. I did not have a lot of things…I was in bed, I was like ten years old, thinking to myself, ‘Damn, will it ever get better?’ and honest to God, I didn’t think it would,” he confessed. “But Lollapalooza, it got so much better.”

IVE

Lollapalooza continued its pattern of not one, but two K-pop acts on the bill this year, with IVE taking an afternoon slot on Saturday. Dressed to coordinate with Chicago’s blue skies on day three, IVE—Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo—overflowed with charisma and charm. The group were all smiles while moving through live band renditions of hits like ‘ROYAL,’ ‘Baddie,’ and ‘HEYA,’ energetic enough to send Yujin’s extensions flying.

A crowd of their fandom DIVEs and locals alike found unity in the group’s closer, a cover of Icona Pop’s ‘All Night,’ collectively going soft as Liz sweetly shed tears heading backstage. Marking their American festival debut, the lively Lollapalooza set solidified the group’s rising star status.

Eyedress

His overlap with IVE and TV Girl was among the cruelest of the weekend, but if you made the zoom across the park to catch Eyedress, you found it well worth the hike. The Filipino genre-bender zeroed in on shoegaze offerings like ‘FULL TIME LOVER’ and ‘Something About You’ to ease into his set, aptly performed in a Sonic Youth tee.

By the time he moved into more post-punk tracks, the excitement was surging. He met fans on level ground to flail in the pit—sporty sunglasses impressively staying put—during ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend,’ ditching his droning delivery on the studio recording for gritty, in-your-face screams. Eyedress was here to remind us just what music festivals are all about.

YOASOBI

While spectacle at T-Mobile got off to a late start with Future x Metro Boomin delaying by thirty minutes (and only performing for an underwhelming forty-five), hyped festivalgoers who opted to catch YOASOBI at the tucked-away Bacardi venue were rewarded with the electric duo matching their energy tenfold.

YOASOBI had a stellar turnout despite sharing a start time with headliners, with superfans flocking for the golden chance to catch the J-pop superstars on their first American headlining tour. Debut single ‘Yoru ni Kakeru’ raised the bar to a hundred from the get-go, through to speedy bangers like ‘Seventeen’ and ‘Biri-Biri’ before leveling out with ‘Yasashii Suisei.’ In the dimly lit trees, fans met the iconic hit ‘Idol’ with their own renditions of the famous dance challenge that took TikTok by storm earlier this year.

The infinitely dimensional production, from multi-leveled platforms to neon lasers and anime-inspired graphics, brought YOASOBI’s surreal cyberpunk world to life. Though we’d originally planned to split time between sets, we instead found ourselves unable to walk away, completely immersed in YOASOBI’s world for one of the weekend’s top sets.

HANABIE.

The details made the display for Japanese nu metalcore girl group HANABIE., whose early set jolted all of Chicago out of its afternoon slump. Vocalist Yukina, in head-to-toe layers of pink tulle and leopard print fur, ran out waving a massive American flag. An initial sound error didn’t stop the quartet from slashing through opener ‘O•TA•KU Lovely Densetsu.’

Mesmerized by their messy, maximalist Harajuku clashcore outfits (which I later learned are designed and sometimes handmade by bassist Hettsu), I found it impossible to count the number of stuffed animals pinned to the clothes of all four members with how fiercely they thrashed around. And sonically, if Hettsu’s flashy bass was the ignition, then Chika’s monstrous drums were the gas. Meanwhile, guitarist Matsuri shredded while delivering melodic belting in songs like ‘Reiwa Matching-sedai‘ to foil Yukina’s guttural screams.

Staff unleashed HANABIE. branded beach balls into the audience in true festival form during ‘Kotoshi koso Gal~Shoka ver.~’ as Yukina ordered moshers to get low and jump on her count. Cute doesn’t come at the loss of command: HANABIE.’s femininity does not oppose, but rather carries their power, plushies and all.

grentperez

Between Blu Detiger and YOASOBI, Bacardi hosted some of the most dynamic sets throughout the weekend—and grentperez was no exception. The Aussie-Filipino singer-songwriter’s vibrant spirit filled the air the instant he hit the stage for ‘Why I Love You.’

As fangirls let out feral screams, he couldn’t help but giggle into the mic. During ‘Wishful Thinking,’ he hopped over to his stylish drummer to offer a chance to adlib, which came in the form of heavy breathing and falsetto meows. “Animal sounds?” he laughedbantered, followed by a ‘woof“ woof woof,” attempting to spur a ‘Cat + Dog’ K-pop moment, but met with an ‘oink oink oink’ from his bassist instead. And all of this was only a couple of songs in: from the jump, you knew you were in for a fun time.

Flitting between jazzy two-steps, silky crooning, and one-off quips with a charming sense of humor, grentperez served the intimate performance up arena style. He even plugged Jimmi Lou, the designer of his custom Levi’s pants-skort combo, equipped with a plush keychain and a plushie keychain and work gloves on his waistband. Suffice it to say, you never know where a grentperez show might take you.

Conan Gray

The Japanese-American popstar served up 80s glam realness on a silver retro futuristic platter for his main stage set, a triumphant return to the festival after five years. His oxblood leather football-inspired set, classic aviators, and signature permed mane much suited glam rock and new wave-derived tracks like ‘Never Ending Song’ and ‘Killing Me’ from his most recent release, Found Heaven.

He engaged devotees who traveled from as far as Australia, as per a sign in the crowd, blowing kisses and sending hand hearts with a winning smile. He even made a quick change into a crop top that read “BOURGEOISPALOOZA” before fan favorite ‘Bourgeoisieses.’ Despite some pitchy moments, Gray sold the show with smoke and showmanship.