The very first Lollapalooza toured across America back in 1991, which means that the annual music festival will turn 25 in 2016. To celebrate this milestone, the event will be spending a little extra time in Chicago next summer. This morning, organizers announced that Lollapalooza will expand to a four-day festival in 2016, bringing more than 170 bands to Grant Park on July 28–31.
For a long time, we've wondered if Lollapalooza might follow in the steps of Coachella and Austin City Limits Music Festival by expanding to two weekends. The Chicago festival is an almost immediate sell-out each year, so it would make sense for organizers to double the number of tickets available. The fact that Lollapalooza takes place in a public park (which is usually damaged after just one weekend of festivities) has likely prevented such an expansion, as the public outcry over such a decision would probably be considerable. Not to mention the fact that Chicago's summer music festival calendar is already jam-packed.
Starting the festival on Thursday instead of Friday is a reasonable compromise, especially when you consider that the stages and grounds in Grant Park are usually set up well before gates open.
Even with an extra day of music, ticket prices aren't going up that much in 2016. Four-day passes will be $335 and one-day tickets will cost $120 when they go on sale this spring (up from $275 and $110 in 2015, respectively).
So, start stretching your legs and speculating about possible headlining acts—Lollapalooza 2016 is gonna be a doozy. If you thought you felt tired after three days of traipsing back and forth across Grant Park, just imagine how spent you'll be after four.