Fans of Lollapalooza are hoping the music festival will make a return this summer to Chicago's Grant Park.
"It would be really exciting," said Chicago resident Hilary Nollau. "Honestly, I think we had a full year of doing this. Some real life would be really nice."
Others don’t think the time is right.
"I don’t think we’re ready," said Chicago resident Lukasz Mordarski. "There’s too many people that are going to be iffy about it probably. People are going to get sick, and it’s just going to restart everything."
The four-day music festival was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The massive celebration in previous years would draw crowds of around 100,000 people.
“I think people are tired of Zoom. They’re tired of watching things on their devices and going to school and work and all of that," 103.5 KISS FM radio host Christopher Frederick said. “So the idea of an actual Lollapalooza this year — that I think would be the hottest Lollapalooza ticket of all time.”
Over the weekend in an interview with iHeartRadio, Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell said he wants to see the music festival take place this summer in Chicago in some capacity.
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“If we can stay on course, get vaccinated, stay socially distant and mask up, maybe please God we’ll get to go to Chicago in early August in one capacity or another,” Farrell said. “If it’s not a giant Lollapalooza, it may be half-capacity Lollapalooza or no Lollapalooza. But I want there to be a Lollapalooza in some capacity so bad."
Farrell said if everything goes as planned, the return comes just in time for Lollapalooza’s 30th anniversary.
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“We can only respond to the people," he said. "The people are getting it right and we’re flattening out and we’re going away from COVID infections. There’s hope."
With more people getting vaccinated and President Joe Biden saying there’s a possibility that family and friends could gather to celebrate the Fourth of July, some people hope this is a sign that things are getting back to normal this summer.
“As the vaccination rolls out, you can see, even walking around the city," said Frederick. "I mean more people; it’s more vibrant. The energy is coming back, and that’s what Chicago is all about."
