Black Sabbath, Chili Peppers will play Lollapalooza
By THOMAS CONNER Pop Music Critic/tconner@suntimes.com April 10, 2012 8:25PM
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Lollapalooza 2012
Red Hot Chili
Peppers
The Black Keys
Black Sabbath
Jack White
Florence
+ the Machine
At the Drive-In
Avicii
The Shins
Justice
Passion Pit
Sigur Ros
The Weeknd
M83
Miike Snow
The Afghan Whigs
Bloc Party
Franz Ferdinand
Frank Ocean
J. Cole
Childish Gambino
Delta Spirit
Metric
The Temper Trap
Wale
Die Antwoord
Dawes
tUnE-yArDs
The Head & the Heart
The Big Pink
Twin Shadow
The Tallest Man
on Earth
Toro y Moi
Dr. Dog
Of Monsters and Men
Gary Clark Jr.
Alabama Shakes
The Gaslight Anthem
Amadou & Mariam
Band of Skulls
SBTRKT
Tame Impala
The Walkmen
JJ Grey & Mofro
fun.
Neon Indian
Dum Dum Girls
Washed Out
Aloe Blacc
Trampled by Turtles
Bear in Heaven
Blind Pilot
Chairlift
The Black Angels
Yellow Ostrich
Givers
Polica
Bombay Bicycle Club
Sharon Van Etten
White Rabbits
Doomtree
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
The Devil Makes Three
Oberhofer
The War on Drugs
Michael Kiwanuka
O Rappa
Bowerbirds
Orchard Lounge
Mona
The Growlers
Hey Rosetta!
JEFF the Brotherhood
Anamanaguchi
First Aid Kit
Wax
FIDLAR
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound
Milo Greene
Los Jaivas
Kopecky Family Band
The Jezabels
LP
Yuna
Walk Off the Earth
Animal Kingdom
Dev
The Sheepdogs
The Dunwells
DJ Mel
Empires
Kevin Devine
Dry the River
Helena
Haley Reinhart
Imaginary Cities
Overdoz
Ambassadors
DJ Zebo
Chancellor Warhol
Laura Warshauer
Red Oblivion
Perry’s stage
Bassnectar
Kaskade
Calvin Harris
NERO
Santigold
Knife Party
Zeds Dead
Big Gigantic
Skream & Benga
Little Dragon
Porter Robinson
Sub Focus
Madeon
Zedd
Paper Diamond
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Star Slinger
Badastrom
DJ Nihal
SALVA
Kid Color
Article Extras
Updated: May 18, 2012 2:21PM
Lollapalooza has revealed its official 2012 list of performers — a typically wide-ranging smorgasbord of genres and styles topped by nearly a dozen mainstage headliners: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, freshly reunited bands Black Sabbath and At the Drive-In, the Black Keys, Jack White, Florence + The Machine, the Shins and Passion Pit, plus spotlighted electronic music including Swedish house titan Avicii, French dance duo Justice and DJ-producer Bassnectar.
The annual music festival is scheduled for Aug. 3-5 in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Rumored lineups have circulated widely, as they usually do, and Lollapalooza itself stoked the speculation in recent weeks via a series of CTA and online advertisements that seemed to hint at who would be playing.
The ads featured lyrics from such acts as Sigur Ros, Santigold, Jack White, Kimbra, Twin Shadow, the Weeknd, Bloc Party and more — all bands that wound up on the bill.
Pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath has been courting reunion rumors for some time. All four original members — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — made an official announcement in November of new shows (mostly summer festivals) and new recordings. Ward has since dropped out.
At the Drive-In played a surprise show — its first together in 11 years — Monday night in Austin, Texas, home of Lollapalooza’s producers, C3 Presents. The beloved El Paso-based rock band’s reunion will be spotlighted at numerous festivals worldwide this summer, including Coachella beginning this weekend outside of Los Angeles.
Some bands aren’t reuniting but returning after a hiatus, such as Bloc Party, which has been inactive for two years, and the Shins, back with a new record this spring, the first under that moniker since 2006.
A few of the top acts will provide deja vu for local fans. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are booked for a Chicago area show barely more than two months before Lollapalooza (May 28 at the Allstate Arena). The Black Keys just played the United Center in mid-March. Bassnectar has two shows this weekend at the Congress Theater. Meanwhile, Childish Gambino, fun., and SBTRKT are booked for Chicago clubs within the next few weeks.
Bassnectar leads the Perry’s Stage, named for Lolla founder and Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell. Last year, the humid rave tent often was the most engaging stage at the festival. This year’s offerings stretch beyond the usual lone, headphoned DJ, including dance-pop singer Santigold, fusion electronic group Big Gigantic and dubstep duo Skream & Benga.
Despite higher prices, a first round of three-day passes to the festival sold out in late March at $200 each. For remaining passes, available through www.lollapalooza.com, the price jumps to $230.
That’s $15 more than last year — the result of a renegotiated deal between Lollapalooza’s producers, Texas-based C3 Presents, and the City of Chicago. Last month, the Chicago Park District announced the extension of the festival through 2021 but with the deletion of the tax exemption that the festival had previously enjoyed since relaunching in Chicago’s downtown park in 2005.
Because of the extra outlay, a C3 spokesperson said ticket prices would jump. Last year’s early-bird passes were $185 and regular passes, $215.
Last weekend, Lollapalooza produced its first festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, featuring the Foo Fighters, MGMT, Foster the People, Arctic Monkeys and more. In 2011, the festival brand started an annual event in Santiago, Chile, as well.
