Check Out Smashing Pumpkins, Case Oats, Whethan And Other Local Acts At Lollapalooza 2026

DOWNTOWN — Lollapalooza returns to Grant Park Thursday through Sunday, bringing headliners Charli XCX, Tate McRae, Lorde, Olivia Dean and more to Chicago.

Also in the mix are several bands and artists with Chicago-area roots: DJ and producer John Summit, The Braymores, Smashing Pumpkins, Freddie Gibbs, Whethan, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Water From Your Eyes, Stella Lefty, Ric Wilson and Case Oats.

Here’s when and where you can see these hometown acts perform at Lollapalooza this year.

The Braymores

The Braymores are a Chicago indie rock band featuring Matt Tilles on vocals and guitar, Keegan Melaniphy on guitar, Russell Oren on drums and Connor Kohanzo on bass.

The band came together in 2022 after Tilles began sharing original music and covers on TikTok. His videos caught the attention of Melaniphy, who reached out about collaborating and later brought in Oren on drums. The band first started playing without a bassist before meeting and adding Prathr later that year, according to Pleaser Magazine.

The Braymores spent time on the ground in Chicago, building a following by performing at local venues like Phyllis’ Musical Inn, before selling out a headlining show at Beat Kitchen, where they have played several shows since.

The group released its debut EP, “Talking to Trees,” in 2023. The EP blends indie rock with folk for a “coming of age story,” according to Bandcamp. The Braymores released their debut album, “Who You’d Have Been,” in 2024. They are set to release their next album, “When The Lights Go Out,” this year in addition to a busy summer and fall tour, according to ROAM Agency.

Watch the Braymores perform at Lollapalooza 1-1:40 p.m. Thursday at the BMI stage.

John Summit 

John Summit most famously made the pivot from working an accounting job in Chicago to making house music full-time. Summit grew up in Naperville and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he used to produce music in his dorm room.

After college, Summit continued to make music while working full-time and began gaining followers on SoundCloud. The first time he heard one of his songs played out loud was at Spybar, a popular Downtown nightclub, according to Variety.

Summit made a splash in 2020 with the song “Deep End.” As his following grew, Summit went from playing Chicago clubs to headlining major festivals and venues around the world. In 2024, he launched his own record label, Experts Only, and sold out a headlining show at Madison Square Garden.

Summit released his debut album, “Comfort in Chaos,” in 2024 and his second album, “CTRL ESCAPE,” this spring. He’s also has numerous hit singles, such as “Where You Are,” “La Danza” and — in a nod to the Windy City — “In Chicago.”

Summit returns to Lollapalooza as a headliner four years after performing an early-afternoon set on the festival’s final day in 2022.

Watch John Summit perform at Lollapalooza 8:30-10 p.m. Thursday at the Bud Light stage.

Chicago Made Showcase

This year’s Chicago Made Music showcase offers a heady lineup of up-and-coming Chicago-based artists including Queen Key, Lil M.U., Peter CottonTale, Sherrionn, Corr Kendricks and Free Joel. The showcase is led by Music Director Tony “Chicago” Russell, and is a great way to check out a variety of local acts on one stage. The program, sponsored by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, will culminate Oct. 24 with a finale performance at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The showcase takes place Friday 12:15-1:00 p.m. at the Tito’s Lounge stage.

Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins are a Chicago alternative rock band led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Billy Corgan. Corgan formed the band with guitarist James Iha in 1988, later adding bassist D’arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin to complete its original lineup.

The band has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won two GRAMMY Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. The Smashing Pumpkins released their debut album, “Gish,” in 1991 followed by “Siamese Dream” in 1993, and both albums went platinum. Their 1995 double album, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” debuted at No. 1 and produced some of the band’s best-known songs, including “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” 

The Pumpkins broke up in 2000 before Corgan revived the group in 2006, solidifying the lineup with both Chamberlin and Iha in 2018. The group has continued releasing music, including the three-part rock opera “Atum” in 2023 and 2024’s “Aghori Mhori Mei.”

This year will be the first the band has headlined Lollapalooza at Grant Park. The band played Lollapalooza in 1994 at the World Music Theater in Tinley Park before the festival moved Downtown.

Watch the Smashing Pumpkins perform at Lollapalooza 8:30-10 p.m. Friday at the Bud Light stage.

Freddie Gibbs

Freddie Gibbs is a Grammy-nominated rapper and actor from Gary, Indiana, who has said he considers Chicago his second home. He began his career by independently releasing mixtapes after an early deal with Interscope Records fell apart in 2006. The fallout made Gibbs lean into the indie scene and develop a loyal following outside of mainstream music, according to NPR.

Gibbs’ career shifted almost a decade later after teaming up with Madlib, an influential producer, rapper and DJ, to release albums “Pinata” in 2014 and “Bandana” in 2019, projects he credits to cementing his career as an underground rapper, according to NPR. 

In 2020, Gibbs released the album “Alfredo” with producer Alchemist, which earned a Grammy nomination for best rap album in 2021. Gibbs’ music is a mix of street rap and reflective songs about family, faith and his past, drawing influences from artists like 2Pac, Biggie, UGK and more.

Watch Freddie Gibbs perform at Lollapalooza 9:15-10 p.m. Friday at the Airbnb stage.

Whethan

Whethan, whose real name is Ethan Snoreck, is a DJ and producer who broke through the electronic music scene in 2014 at just 15 years old with a viral remix of Mssingno’s “X3.” 

Snoreck went to Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park and was known for having performed at his 2016 homecoming dance and leaving his senior year in 2017 to tour with the Chainsmokers, according to Apple Music.

Snoreck’s early breakthrough songs include “Can’t Hide” featuring Ashe, “When I’m Down” with Oliver Tree and “Savage,” a collaboration with Flux Pavilion and MAX. In early 2017, he teamed with Charli XCX for the single “Love Gang.” The following year, he collaborated with Dua Lipa on “High,” which appeared on the “Fifty Shades Freed” soundtrack. He’s also released six of his own albums.

Since Snoreck’s rise to fame, he’s collaborated with a variety of artists, according to Snoreck’s website. He’s also produced music for artists such as Joji, The Chainsmokers, Kygo, Megan Thee Stallion and more.

Watch Whethan perform at Lollapalooza 4:15-5:15 p.m. Saturday at the Perry’s stage.

Ric Wilson

Ric Wilson is a South Side rapper, singer and activist known best for blending hip-hop with funk, disco, house music and soul, according to Apple Music.

Wilson developed his artistic and political voice through the Chicago Freedom School, a youth organization focused on social justice and community organizing. That background has continued to shape his music, which pairs upbeat dance rhythms with social commentary, according to WBEZ.

In 2020, Wilson teamed up with Grammy-nominated producer Terrace Martin for the EP “They Call Me Disco,” which combines Wilson’s sound with rap, funk, neo-soul and a little bit of House.

In 2023, Wilson collaborated with electronic music acts Chromeo and A-Trak on the album “Clusterfunk,” which included a mix of dance music and hip-hop. The album was named among WBEZ critics’ best Chicago albums that year.

Watch Ric Wilson perform at Lollapalooza 1:15-2 p.m. Saturday at the Bud Light stage.

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra

Following a year of firsts, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra will return for a second year as a headliner at Lollapalooza.

The orchestra, comprised of over 100 young musicians, became the first orchestra last year to have its own 60-minute set on a Lollapalooza main stage. It was also the festival’s first-ever teen ensemble to get its own slot on the schedule.

Led by Music Director Allen Tinkham, the orchestra will return with a genre-spanning program featuring classical works, contemporary American compositions and music from Marvel and DC films, according to a press release. The set will include music by Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Jessie Montgomery, as well as the “Avengers” theme and the “Superman March.”

The performance will also debut a collaboration with Grammy-winning Chicago artists J. Ivy and Tarrey Torae. The pair will perform alongside the orchestra using an arrangement commissioned from composer Marcus Norris, according to a press release.

Watch the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra perform at Lollapalooza 8:15-9 p.m. Saturday at the Tito’s stage.

Water From Your Eyes

Water From Your Eyes is an experimental rock duo made up of vocalist Rachel Brown and producer and instrumentalist Nate Amos. Brown, a Chicago native, met Vermont-raised Amos through Chicago’s DIY music scene, and the pair began making music together under the Water From Your Eyes name in 2016, according to Pitchfork.

The band is now New York-based duo and started to gain momentum after their 2021 album “Structure” led to opening for bands Pavement, Spoon and Interpol, and they eventually secured a deal with Matador Records.

Water From Your Eyes has released two albums under the record label: “Everyone’s Crushed” in 2023 and “It’s a Beautiful Place” in 2025, featuring a more guitar-forward record inspired partially by humanity’s place in the universe, according to the Guardian.

Watch Water From Your Eyes perform at Lollapalooza 2:50-3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Airbnb stage.

Case Oats

Case Oats are a Chicago alt-country band led by singer-songwriter Casey Gomez Walker, with Spencer Tweedy on drums, Max Subar on guitar and pedal steel, Jason Ashworth on bass and Scott Daniel on fiddle.

Walker, who grew up near St. Louis and later moved to Chicago to study creative writing and journalism at Columbia College Chicago, formed the band with Tweedy in 2018, according to WBEZ. 

Case Oats developed a following through years of performances around Chicago and the Midwest before signing with Merge Records in 2025. The band released its debut album, “Last Missouri Exit,” that August. The album blends folk and alt-country with Walker’s stories about growing up, relationships and the pull between her Missouri roots and her life in Chicago, according to WBEZ.

Watch Case Oats perform at Lollapalooza 3:20-4 p.m. Sunday at the BMI stage.

Stella Lefty

Stella Lefty is a country-pop musician from Glencoe who began learning guitar as a child before stepping into her passion for music after pursuing a degree in public health, according to online publication The Line of Best Fit.

Lefty began sharing songs online while she was in college and eventually started attracting attention from music labels and publishers. She explored pop and alternative music before embracing the country-pop sound she grew up listening to, according to an interview with Songwriter Universe.

Lefty’s breakthrough came when “Thinking ’bout You,” written with Grace Enger and Sadie Jean, gained traction on TikTok. She followed it with “Boston,” which became a hit on the country and pop charts, and released the six-song EP “Is This Heaven?” in May.

Watch Stella Lefty perform at Lollapalooza 7:45-8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Airbnb stage.