PHOTOS: Karol G Makes History As First Latina Lollapalooza Headliner And Billie Eilish Does 'Barbie' (2024)

DOWNTOWN — Lollapalooza hit the ground running Thursday with a powerful female lineup headlining the annual music festival’s first day.

Billie Eilish headlined the T-Mobile main stage, with Karol G on the Bud Light stage on Thursday night. Before the women took the stage, festival goers were greeted briefly by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who welcomed the nearly 115,000 people in attendance.

“We were made for this…we are the soul of Chicago, we are the soul of the world,” Johnson said.

Eilish graced the stage sporting a black Michael Jordan Chicago Bullsjersey and basketball shorts. The singer performed “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie film soundtrack for the first time.

Crowds at this year’s Lollapalooza are bigger than ever after daily capacity increased by 15,000 people compared to years past. The increase is part of the festival’s renewed 10-year contract with the city, which was announced last year.

Karol G, a Colombian Reggaeton artist, is the first Latina to headline Lollapalooza. Her most recent album,Mañana Será Bonito, recently becamethefirst fully Spanish-language albumby a female artist to top the Billboard 200 chart.

She performed her set in Spanish to a crowd filled with fans who proudly waved flags from various Latin American countries. Karol G called out fans from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador and more.

Karol G performed hits from KG0516 andMañana Será Bonito including “El Makinon”, “Gatúbela”, “Tusa” and “TQG.”

Karol G’s set also included local faces from the city’s Uniting Voices Chicago choir, who came out to sing “Mientras Me Curo Del Cora” which translates to “While I Heal My Heart.”

Fans were enthusiastic throughout Karol G’s performance chanting “Bichota” in between songs. The singer also made her way down to the crowd several times and passed the mic to a couple of fans who belted out lyrics with pride.

NewJeans, a popular female K-pop group, made their U.S. debut Thursday to thousands of fans at the festival’s T-Mobile stage. Many of these fans, known as Bunnies, traveled from all over the country to see them and packed the T-Mobile stage for the group’s 5 p.m. performance.

The group made history as the first female K-pop group to perform at Lollapalooza. Many in the crowd sang and danced along to NewJeans choreography as they performed top hits like “OMG,” “ETA” and “ASAP.”

“I’ve been a fan since they debuted last year. They blew up this year and is the first time I’ll be able to see them live…I think it’s really cool that [Lollapalooza] is starting to incorporate more K-pop,” said Luke Valseo, who flew from California to see NewJeans.

Other performers included Carly Rae Jepsen, Lainey Wilson, Portugal. The Man, Matt Maltese, Dom Dolla and Diplo.

As fans waited hours in line for special experiences tents and merchandise throughout the day, a more serious pop-up addressing harm reduction also attracted a large crowd.

This Must Be The Place, an overdose prevention nonprofit, made its first appearance at Lollapalooza. The organization is giving away free life-saving nalaxone, an overdose-reversing nasal spray, all weekend long.

By 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the group already gave away more than 1,000 kits. At Sueños Music Festival in May the group gave out nearly 1,400 the entire three-day weekend. The group is on track to surpass that and is prepared to give out 4,500 doses.

“This is by far our biggest festival that we’ve done to date and the reception has been great. We’ve had a line effectively since the gates opened. People are willing to wait for this stuff,” said William Perry, co-director of the organization.

To get a kit, attendees receive a quick tutorial on how to use the medication. They are also taught to recognize the signs of an overdose. Most likely attendees won’t use it at the festival, but the hope is that the medication is then sent back into the nearby communities, Perry said.

“It’s not all gonna get used here, you know? So it’s gonna make it home into communities and houses that are now going to be safe…because people have this stuff,” Perry said.

Block Club will be covering Lollapalooza all weekend. Check back for more, or follow Melody, Colin, Mack and Atavia on social media.

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