Tate McRae And Beabadoobee Offer A Pop-Fueled Finale To A Festive If Muddy Lolla Weekend

DOWNTOWN — Lollapalooza’s streak run of stellar weather ended this year with a torrential downpour that caused the festival to push back its opening for four hours Saturday. A revised schedule announced the cancellation of several acts and shorter sets for other ones.

But the rain and subsequent mud did not deter the Lolla crowd, with some fans waiting at the gates to race to grab a spot at their favorite headliner’s set, or even viewing from outside the fence off DuSable Lake Shore Drive to get a glimpse of stars like Lorde and Charli xcx at the T-Mobile stage.

One attendee even organized a spontaneous “lesbian mud wrestling session” to take advantage of Lolla’s Saturday terrain.

Day 4 Brought The Sun And Stellar Local Performers

The Sunday crowd came prepared for the mud, with many sacrificing fashion for footwear they didn’t care about getting filthy. Lolla staff had cleared out as much of the water as possible and added wood chips, although attendees still had to navigate some mudslide areas. Eventually, the sun peeked out to indicate that the storms had indeed subsided.

Local artist Squirrel Flower brought out her ethereal pop stylings to kick off the mud-framed Allianz stage Sunday, teling the crowd that her new album comes out Aug. 21. The Chicago-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist leaned into the local crowd by announcing, “This is a song about Northwest Indiana” as tracks like her newest single “Not Me” kicked off the day with a mellow vibe.

A bit more spirited was Cruz Beckham and the Breakers at the Tito’s Stage. His mom may be a pop star, but Beckham is firmly in the rock camp, offering any array of cheerful wannabe hits like “Optics,” which sounded like Oasis if the Gallagher brothers actually liked each other.

Not to disappoint the U.S. crowd, Beckham showed off his guitar chops during a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” His successful set pegged him as an artist to watch outside of his famous moniker.

Another famous offspring with Chicago ties could be spotted at the Case Oats set, which features vocalist Casey Walker and drummer Spencer Tweedy, son of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

While the elder Tweedy did not make an appearance at the BMI stage, Walker brought her dad, saxophonist Don Walker, up to the stage a few times to flesh out Case Oats’ inherently Midwestern, sometimes somber alt-country sound through engrossing story songs like “Nora” and “Bitter Root Lake.”

Even further into the country vein is Stella Lefty, who performed toward the end of the day Sunday at Airbnb stage. The local-born artist, who now lives in Los Angeles, highlighted her Chicago roots with vintage travelogue footage screening behind her as she dove into songs like “Good at Leaving Me” and “Kiss Me,” back by lots of electric slide guitar. She announced “Chicago crowds are the best crowds” before bringing out her “favorite person on planet Earth,” musician Vincent Mason, for their duet on “Something to Lose.” She then unfurled an inspired cover of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten,” which turned into a fun singalong for the crowd, before announcing her new album release on Aug. 21.

Lefty, as well as Walker and Chicago native band Water from Your Eyes (now in Brooklyn), all referenced the fact that Lolla was one of the very first festivals they ever attended, and expressed thrilled astonishment that they were taking the stage that day.

For fans not up for the intense energy of the Perry’s Club stage, the Bud Light Sound Bar offered a smaller club-like setting, giving DJs like Duke Dumont a chance to get the crowd moving. And those looking for more singalongs could check out the karaoke cocktail lounge, which really was just a fun dancing and singing party as the DJ spun familiar hits.

Extensive Lines for Giveaways Snaked Around the Fest

As the sun shone down for the final day of Lollapalooza, fans gathered for their final chance to get free goodies at the over 50 brand activations across the festival grounds. Giveaways ranged from free bags, drinks, beauty products, photo opportunities and other branded merch, often using the attractions to fill gaps between performances.

The longest reported wait was at Ulta, where California visitors Simran Nagshain and Nia Patel said they spent about three hours in line during Lollapalooza’s first day. While they said most activations were worthwhile, the payoff got smaller the longer they stood in line.

The two friends told Block Club Chicago that they preferred Dunkin’s activation, where they received sample drinks and used the makeup touch-up station. Compared to their home state music festival Coachella, they said Lolla’s lines moved faster.

Chicagoans Luisa Guerrero and Margarita Guerrero also waited for Ulta after seeing attendees carrying the brand’s mesh bags. Margarita Guerrero said the Ulta line had been the longest so far. The pair had been standing in line for 12 minutes when Block Club approached them, with three rows of people still ahead of them.

“I’m not gonna lie. It’s that free bag that I’ve been seeing people walking around with,” Margarita Guerrero said.

Waits for various activations ranged from about 10 minutes to 20 minutes on average, according to attendees Block Club spoke with.

Nagshain and Patel had been in their current line for about 10 minutes before being let into the Liquid IV activation, although the line had another 100 people in it. Meredith Kromalic, an out-of-town attendee visiting Lollapalooza for the second time, had waited about 30 minutes for a small belt bag at Dunkin, which was her longest activation line so far for the weekend.

Pop Headliners Offered the Perfect Lolla Finale

But as the day continued, fans started their migration to the stages of their preferred headliner. On Sunday, that crowd was mostly for pop artist Tate McRae.

Filipino artist Beabadoobee had the unenviable task of appearing before McRae at the T-Mobile stage, but gamely took on the challenge with an inspired set of pop stylings.

“There’s so many of you, oh my goodness,” she commented to the massive crowd.

The singer-guitarist expertly steered the crowd through breakup anthems like “Sun Has Set” and “Apple Cider,” sweetly depicting the fizzy feelings of an early crush, all while displaying a truly impressive guitar collection, with several instrument swaps.

McRae’s audience was dominated by teenage girls and young women, some of whom FaceTimed friends as the pop star emerged about eight minutes late in an all-white outfit.

McRae opened with “Just Keep Watching,” flanked by shirtless male backup dancers, before moving into “2 Hands.” Throughout the performance, she leaned heavily on sharp choreography, including hip rolls, floorwork, a split during “Exes” and the deep backbend that has become a hallmark of her live shows.

The singer paused early in the set to take in the crowd stretching across the south end of the grounds.

“There are so many of you,” McRae said. “It goes on forever.”

McRae told fans she was “so beyond excited” to return to Chicago, calling it one of her favorite places to perform. Saturday marked her first time headlining Lollapalooza after two previous appearances at the festival.

She reflected on the growth of her career, telling the crowd that Lollapalooza was only the second festival she ever played. Her audience had grown from about 30,000 people during that early appearance to roughly 100,000 for her headlining set, she said.

McRae, who began writing and recording songs in her bedroom at 13, thanked longtime fans for continuing to support her.

“You have stuck with me for forever,” she said. “I feel so blessed.”

She later sang “You Broke Me First” as a song she wrote at 16, prompting one of the set’s loudest singalongs as the crowd took over the chorus. McRae continued through hits including “Revolving Door” and “Sports Car,” combining polished pop vocals with elaborate choreography and theatrical poses.

Upon ending her set with the song “Sports Car,” she dipped herself in gold paint to resemble a sculpture. The crowd erupted in screams before she disappeared backstage, marking the end of Lollapalooza 2026.

Read our Lollapalooza Day One, Two and Three recaps.

See our favorite photos from the Lollapalooza weekend: