In its fourth year as a four-day mega-festival, Lollapalooza is still a marathon of an event that leaves many attendees sunburned and sleep-deprived by the time Sunday morning rolls around. But this year's star-studded lineup and picturesque forecast—with highs in the mid-80s and not a single thunderstorm on the radar—made it all feel worth it.
RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to Lollapalooza
While current pop stars like Ariana Grande, J Balvin, the Chainsmokers and Childish Gambino dominated the festival's headlining slots, many of the most memorable sets took place well before the sun went down. Performances from Atlanta rapper 21 Savage and hip-hop veteran Lil Wayne drew crowds to Grant Park's south field that rivaled—and in some cases surpassed—those that showed up for the top-billed acts. Elsewhere, R&B queen Janelle Monáe made her way through a collection of funky tunes accompanied by numerous costume changes, Kacey Musgraves struck an inspiring note, Rosalía brought flamenco rhythms, and English punks Idles screamed out against fascism during a scorching set. Oh, and Shaq managed to squeeze into the DJ booth at Perry's stage (performing under the moniker Diesel) and egged on one of the weekend's biggest mosh pits.
Even when you weren't parked in front of a stage, the extracurricular programming at this year's edition of Lolla made it easy to stay occupied. Professional gamer Ninja was playing Fortnite for most of the weekend atop a two-story Red Bull activation near Perry's stage, HBO screened the first episode of its latest Danny McBride vehicle The Righteous Gemstones in an air-conditioned tent, Revlon set up a roller-skating rink near the main entrance, and Chipotle's booth hosted an appearance from YouTube star David Dobrik (and the hundreds of screaming fans showed up to see him).
This year's edition of Lollapalooza was far from perfect (we'd like to see more female headliners, more local acts on the bill and a few more compelling reasons to show up before 4pm), but the event seems to be settling into its four-day sprawl. At the very least, it was nice to sweat through a four-day weekend of pop stars and buoyant tunes without an evacuation breaking up the onstage action.
Relive the weekend with some of our favorite photos of Lollapalooza performers, crowds and scenes from inside Grant Park.
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Grace DuVal
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas
Photograph: Grace DuVal