Green Day, J-Hope And Måneskin Close Out Lollapalooza 2022 In Chicago

For many artists, the Lollapalooza weekend is… brisk, one defined by arrival, media obligations, aftershow, festival performance and immediate departure within about two days and little to no time to settle in or see other acts.

Indie rock duo Taipei Houston dropped their first and only single “As the Sun Sets” and performed on a Lollapalooza stage just three days later.

“We came in and had two shows twelve hours apart and it was fun to just come in hot and get them done,” said drummer Myles Ulrich backstage Sunday. “The Metro is a kick ass venue. We had a lot of fun there. It sounded great. IDLES were amazing. And then being here all weekend has been awesome. We’re really happy with how it went and had a lot of fun.”

Opening for IDLES during a Metro aftershow Thursday night and performing Friday gave the duo the rare luxury of being able to stick around throughout the weekend and soak in the festival atmosphere, catching acts like Turnstile and Royal Blood.

Following the release of “As the Sun Sets,” a catchy, garage rock affair, the duo look ahead to a busy fall.

“So we just dropped the first single this week. It’s kind of the first of things to come, which is really exciting for us. Getting to have that come in conjunction with this Lolla weekend and sort of getting to be around this weekend and have it out and talk about it has been so exciting,” said bassist Layne Ulrich.

“We have a debut we finished that’s coming in the fall,” added Myles. “More songs very soon in the coming months.”

For Charly Jordan, Lollapalooza weekend also proved to be somewhat of a whirlwind, the DJ, model and entrepreneur performing for the first time after attending as a fan in 2018.

“I came and I saw Zedd and Illenium perform and the sunset over the city is just a core memory for me. So it’s really surreal to be here,” she said. “Obviously, I’m exhausted. But it’s great exhaustion, you know? I’ve had three shows in 24 hours. We played in Cleveland Friday, flew here and played Lolla and played at PRYSM’s No. 9 last night till like 3 AM. So yeah.”

Jordan, 23, sits as CEO of both Smoke Roses (a cleaner alternative to rolling papers made up of rose petals, purified water and organic paper) and Beauty In Pain (a fashion and jewelry line which promotes mental health).

As a social media influencer with nearly 13 million followers across channels, Jordan is able to tie together all of her different worlds, leveraging a strong brand. The lessons she’s learned as a CEO are applicable to her career as a musician and keeping an eye on the business side of things is crucial.

“It’s super important to me. Because I feel like that is an aspect where people get taken advantage of – and frequently,” Jordan said. “I understand the thought of, ‘I just want to be an artist!’ But you have to protect yourself. It is your business. It’s your money. It’s your life. So if you want control over that, you should definitely keep an eye on it.”

Rock and roll is at its best when it’s unpredictable. Few artists encapsulated that idea on stage as effectively as Italian rockers Måneskin did over the course of one hour on the T-Mobile main stage.

“Hello, Lolla! Hello, Chicago!” said singer Damiano David on stage Sunday. “I can’t f–ing hear you! How are you?!” he asked again rhetorically.

Members of the group were off stage mixing it up with the crowd about as much as they were on it, a rollicking set that got moving with “Mammamia” early, drummer Ethan Torchio standing up behind his kit as he got the crowd clapping along. “Jump! Jump! Jump!” said David to his responsive audience, whipping the massive festival throng into a frenzy while setting the stage for an all hands sing-along on one of the breakout hits of the last year in “Beggin’.”

At one point, David stopped to acknowledge a fan openly weeping in front near the barricade, video screens capturing the Beatle-like reaction. Following a cover of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the singer had to stop the set so exhausted fans in the July heat could be escorted out of the chaos.

Throughout the weekend, the group’s first time in Chicago, Måneskin, who were named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in European Entertainment in May, performed a series of acoustic sets for radio stations in the city, surprising fans with a Friday night aftershow.

“When we get to play acoustic live sessions, it’s something very different from what we usually do. But we really enjoy it,” said bassist Victoria De Angelis. “That’s basically how we started playing: we started on the streets as buskers and we always played acoustic sets. So it brings back all the memories.”

“We also went to Lollapalooza in Sweden and Paris but this is our first time here in Chicago. So we can’t wait to see the other acts,” said guitarist Thomas Raggi. “Compared to the usual no free time that we have, we got to see Dua Lipa, IDLES and Willow and tonight we’re going to see Green Day. So it’s good,” added De Angelis.

Lollapalooza continues a crazy year-long stretch for Måneskin, which featured a performance as opening act for the Rolling Stones in Las Vegas last November and inclusion of their take on Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream,” to the soundtrack for director Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic last month.

“In the last year, we have made a lot of great things that are really unexpected in a certain way,” said Torchio. “And opening for the Rolling Stones was special because they are the Rolling Stones of course and also because it was our first stadium. And the impact of the crowd was a bit different. We just felt a lot of different emotions, so it was really cool.”

“When we got the news that Baz wanted us to play the song for the film, we got so excited,” said David. “We were so proud of this thing that we kind of had no time to measure it up against Elvis. We also knew that’s impossible. We just had to do our own version and not compare it with the original – because that would be a dumb thing to do. No one can touch Elvis. No one can get close. But we did our best and we had fun doing it,” said the singer. “And we rediscovered our love for Elvis. Because we got the chance to dig into his whole career and story a lot more. We went to Memphis and we did all of the Elvis related stuff. So it was a great experience.”

Sunday at Lollapalooza featured two of the biggest headlining acts of the weekend, pitting California punks Green Day opposite BTS vocalist and rapper J-Hope, the first South Korean artist to headline a major American festival.

“Don’t even call him a K-pop artist,” said Jane’s Addiction/Porno For Pyros vocalist and Lollapalooza co-creator Perry Farrell backstage Thursday. “He’s an artist from Asia that is headlining an American festival. For the first time in history! That’s pretty amazing.”

Farrell welcomed Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan to the Lollapalooza stage Sunday for the first time since 1994, chipping in on a Porno For Pyros cover of Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” about an hour before Green Day closed out Lollapalooza 2022 on the T-Mobile stage.

“You know, we played Lollapalooza in 1994. It was a traveling circus. But it started in 1991,” explained Green Day singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong on stage Sunday night. “I lived on the outskirts of town but we got to see these bands like Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and the Beastie Boys because of a guy named Perry Farrell. So thank you, Perry!” he said, setting up “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

Green Day kicked off a raucous 100 minute Sunday night fest closing set, firing “American Idiot” as their open salvo. “We’ve been locked up for two f–ing years. Not tonight!” said Armstrong midway through the song. “Tonight, we’re gonna sing together. We’re gonna dance together. And we’re gonna make some noise together!”

Friday night at Chicago’s Metro, during an aftershow in front of just 1,100 lucky fans, Green Day dug deep in a catalog that now spans a once unthinkable 13 albums over three decades and global sales of more than 75 million records, playing a handful of songs for the first time in over 20 years. They played it a little safer on stage Sunday at Lollapalooza, staying closer to the hits.

Backed by a trio of musicians, Green Day brought the stage lights down as Armstrong shined a spotlight on the fans during “Holiday,” encouraging audience participation during a chant of “Hey!” before bringing up a young fan to contribute to “Know Your Enemy.”

“Sit around and watch the phone, but no one’s texting,” sang Armstrong, updating the lyrics of 1994’s “Longview” for the smartphone era, sticking with the Dookie album for “Welcome to Paradise” next.

Armstrong tried to lead a largely confused crowd in a sing-along of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” before dusting off “Hitchin’ a Ride.” The band worked in a snippet of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” before “When I Come Around” and rolled out their full take on KISS’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” as someone on the side of the stage danced spastically in a Gene Simmons mask.

Fireballs flew during “Brain Stew” and fireworks exploded above the stage, Armstrong ripping a solo before moving to harmonica as Green Day rolled out “Minority” in Lollapalooza 2022’s final moments.