The Lollapalooza music
festival first began in 1991 as a farewell tour for the rock band, Jane’s
Addiction. In the subsequent years, the extravaganza has branched out to eight
different countries around the world, with its latest expansion to India
scheduled for January 28-29, 2022.

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Jane’s Addiction
frontman Perry Farrell, along with music executives Ted Gardner, Don Muller,
and Marc Geiger, are credited as the founders of the festival. Farrell has
stated that the Reading Festival in Britain is among his chief inspirations behind
Lollapalooza.

What’s in a name?

Although most notable
music festivals are usually named after the place where they are being held,
like Woodstock, Isle of Wight, and Reading, Farrell decided to call his
brainchild Lollapalooza after hearing the word in a short film created by the
vaudevillian act, The Three Stooges. The name stands for something which is
extraordinary or unusual.

Deep Impact

The ‘90s music scene
owes a great deal to Lollapalooza. It is the place where alternative rock came
to the fore, with artists like Nine Inch Nails and Body Count, rapper Ice-T’s band,
wooing audiences in the very first edition. Both went on to become massive acts
in their own right. Interestingly, grunge icons Nirvana were asked to headline
Lollapalooza in 1994, but frontman/guitarist Kurt Cobain turned down the offer.

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Unlike most other music
festivals, Lollapalooza also includes freak shows and virtual reality gaming
zones, adding to what a festival of such stature can encompass.

It’s a hard-knock
life

Things were not always
rosy for Lollapalooza, with the festival almost fading into oblivion post its
cancellation in 1998. However, five years later, Farrell took matters into his
own hand and organized a Lollapalooza tour where Jane’s Addiction would reunite
to perform once again. The festival was again cancelled the following year, and
it was in 2005 that it took its current form, with Grant Park, Chicago emerging
as its destination henceforth.

All around the world

In the year 2010, Lollapalooza
went global, with Chile being the destination. In the years to come, the
festival branched out to Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, France, Israel,
and India. The continued international expansion of the festival is testament
to the fact that it has found a strong footing in the world of music. The cultural
significance of Lollapalooza, when it comes to an alternative lifestyle and
music, can never be denied.