Rain on day three of Lollapalooza was a surprise for many concertgoers Saturday morning in Chicago, setting up a muddy finish to the festival with more rain in the forecast as the festival wraps up on Sunday.
But soulful New Orleans rockers The Revivalists weren’t about to let a little rain spoil the proceedings.
“The fact that you could go outside and it’s moderately comfortable at all is a welcome relief for us coming from New Orleans,” said guitarist Zack Feinberg with a smile. “It’s not miserable enough to remind me of home,” joked saxophonist Rob Ingraham.
“The weather is going to clear up around 3 PM and we’re going to hit that stage. It’s going to be a good time,” asserted frontman David Shaw Saturday morning, prior to the group’s set.
Returning to Lollapalooza for the first time since 2019, the group followed up a triumphant performance on stage this weekend with the release of their latest single “Good Old Days” and a new Johnny Chew-directed video featuring vintage home video of the band members.
On tour in support of their latest studio album Pour It Out Into the Night, their fifth, the group offered up “Good Old Days” second in their set Saturday in Chicago.
“Y’all stayin’ dry?” asked Shaw from the stage, setting up the new single. “No? Who cares, right?” he replied, joking with the audience.
Shaw’s Saturday morning prediction proved prescient, with the sun beginning to reappear over Grant Park as the group made its way through a one hour set on Lollapalooza’s south main stage.
The seering pedal steel of Ed Williams rang out across the park as Shaw made his way off the stage and out into the crowd during “The Long Con.”
Despite puddles clearly visible on stage, The Revivalists overcame any technical issues to deliver one of the weekend’s most engaging, heartfelt sets.
“Lollapalooza is a Chicago institution. It’s incredible. We feel honored to be here,” said Shaw. “We got to see Kendrick Lamar last night. He put on an incredible show,” added Williams. “Jared Leto jumped off the top of the stage – that was pretty crazy.”
Keys sparkled in the late afternoon sun as The Revivalists tore into “All My Friends,” Shaw kneeling down on stage to shred a closing solo.
A finger picked flamenco intro gave way to live horns during the chorus of “How We Move,” perfectly encapsulating the eight piece group’s diverse New Orleans roots. Shaw climbed an amp, posing for the crowd as he sang, eventually leaving the stage again, high fiving fans along the guardrail as photographers gave chase.
“I came here and saw Outkast a few years back. I got to see Childish Gambino. And this is actually where I met our manager Morgan before he managed us. So that’s a wonderful Chicago Lollapalooza memory,” said drummer Andrew Campanelli. “My first Lolla was 2007 when Daft Punk came and did the ‘Alive’ tour. That was one of the best shows that I’ve ever seen,” added keyboard/trumpet player Michael Girardot. “It was great. I love Chicago and I love Lolla.”
A late cover of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” seemed appropriate following a rain soaked start to the morning and afternoon.
One of the best live acts in America, the Revivalists’ dual percussion attack was most notable on the new “Only You.” A Shaw solo transitioned directly into “Wish I Knew You,” with a late organ-fueled interlude giving way to a lovely elongated sax solo as the group made its way toward the finish line.
“Thank you so much Chicago Lollapalooza!” said Shaw from the stage, as Georgia rapper Destroy Lonely readied to take over on the nearby Coinbase stage. “We love ya. Thanks for being beautiful.”
As rain fell during mid-afternoon sets by artists like Suki Waterhouse, and mud began to form in Grant Park, some concertgoers headed for cover in a pair of platinum lounges, platinum viewing areas at six stages and covered structures like the Chase Sapphire Lounge.
Two hours after the Revivalists, Minnesota-born rapper Yung Gravy would close out the Coinbase stage, returning to the festival for the first time in four years with a platinum single and top 40 hit – “Betty (Get Money)” – under his belt.
“I performed at Lolla in 2019 at the BMI stage. I think we broke a record. 8,000 people in attendance at that stage. I guess we outdid like Lady Gaga and Chance the Rapper. I think that’s what it was,” said the rapper and songwriter backstage prior to his set Saturday night. “At that time, that was my favorite festival set ever. It was beautiful. The sun was setting, we were in between these trees. It was gorgeous,” Yung Gravy recalled. “This Lolla so far has been wet,” he said, referencing the rain. “Chicago has been great though. I got to see all of my old roommates from college. I went swimming in the lake. I threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game yesterday. And we did a House of Blues after party which was epic. It was awesome.”
As he was in 2019, Yung Gravy was joined on stage Saturday night by Canadian rapper bbno$, with the pair offering up their latest single, the brand new “Nightmare on Peachtree Street,” a collaboration with Freddie Dredd.
“It’s a tongue twister, honestly,” said bbno$ backstage Saturday. “Freddie’s a good guy. We brought him on tour last year and he’s just one of those super nice souls.”
“We love that song. It’s my style of beat,” added Gravy. “I brought [producer] Jason Rich back. It’s got the title because Jason Rich and Freddy Dredd on the same song,” said the rapper, referencing legendary horror film characters Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) and Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street). “We made the beat real crazy. Hopefully, we’re shooting a music video for it soon.”
Earlier Saturday, country singer Morgan Wade put forth a 45 minute set in the shade on the Bacardi stage.
Prepping the release of her third album Psychopath, Wade made her Lollapalooza debut following a pair of very intimate aftershows, performing to just 400 fans each night at Reggies Rock Club, sets in which she put a unique spin upon a mashup of 80s hits in Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” and The Outfield’s “Your Love.”
“The after show was great. Nice and late, out partying. It was great,” said Wade backstage Saturday. “We don’t do a lot of covers. But there are certain songs where I’m like, ‘OK. That’s fun,’” she said. “So, when I was little, ‘Jessie’s Girl’ was like my favorite song. I used to drive my mom insane in the car – because it was on a mix CD and it was like track number eight. I would just get in the car and say, ‘Track number eight!’ That’s all I would say,” recalled Wade with a laugh. “But it’s just fun to throw in some covers that no one thinks I’m going to do. They wouldn’t expect that. And everyone knows those two songs. So we just mash them up. It’s fun – lighthearted.”
On her breakthrough album Reckless, Wade worked closely with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden to craft a collection of deeply personal, highly relatable tracks. With Psychopath due later this month, Wade doubles down on honesty, authenticity and good old-fashioned country storytelling.
“It’s scary sometimes to say those things and put those things out there,” she admitted of the personal nature of her songwriting. “But the people that connect with my music are the people that I’m writing for and that understand it,” Wade said. “I’m excited to finally get this one out. This is like the first record with an actual major label helping me to push it. So there’s a little bit of pressure – because Reckless did so good. With this one, I just did the same thing: I took my time and I wrote authentic songs and tried to be as real as possible. I went in and gave each song its own story and its own vibe.”
Multi-instrumentalist and experimental pop artist Jean Dawson also performed Saturday on the Bacardi stage.
Drawing upon diverse genres like grunge, new wave and hip-hop, Dawson, once a film student, approaches his music with a cinematic flare.
In addition to music, he also runs a clothing line (Turbo Radio), bringing an authenticity to his branding while keeping a keen eye on the business side.
“One of the biggest disservices that musicians do is they don’t look at the business aspect of what they’re doing. But it’s the lifeblood of your creation,” said Dawson, who’s prepping the release of a new three song EP later this month. “My brother went to school for business. And we’ve always had very, very long discussions about what the finances of music look like – whether it’s income/outcome or our fiscal year,” he explained. “So I think one of the biggest disservices you can do as a musician is negate your ability to understand what money does for your artistry. I’m not saying money has to be the core. But if you’re a car, then money is gasoline – or you can just run on foot. Which is perfectly fine. But we’ll see who gets farther,” he said. “So I think it’s really important to be business literate in the music industry.”
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