During the weekend of March 25th, Interlagos was showered with people. The usually quiet streets were full of people who spoke, dressed and acted out of the norm. This was all because of the music festival Lollapalooza, an annual event that takes place in the Interlagos race track. And, of course, it was overflowing.

For those who don’t know, Lollapalooza is a two-day music festival that takes place in many different parts of the world. The one we have in Brazil (appropriately titled Lollapalooza Brasil) is the one Graded students are most used to talking about due to its proximity and accessibility. Unlike many music festivals, such as Rock in Rio and Tomorrowland, Lollapalooza showcases various different genres, spanning from indie rock to rap, attracting waves of diverse people. Because of this special trait, Lollapalooza often manages to bring foreign singers and bands to their festival, creating a cornucopia of delight about an hour away from Morumbi.

As mentioned, Lollapalooza attracts many different bands and singers that create an amazing lineup. This year was no different. On the first day, Indie rock fans were gifted with the presence of Cage the Elephant, Glass Animals, The 1975, and The XX, to mention some. Rap fans were treated with Criolo, Haikaiss, and G-Eazy. Saturday also brought The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Don Diablo and other attractions for people who enjoy something more electronic or completely different. In true Lollapalooza fashion, Metallica made their appearance as the oddball in the group, but it still managed to attract one of the biggest crowds of the festival. The second day was no different. Artists such as Catfish and the Bottlemen, Jimmy eat world, Vance Joy, Duran Duran, Two door Cinema club and Melanie Martinez made the day incredible. However, the true contenders played at night. The Weeknd started off what seemed to be the opening for what was to come: three incredible shows at the same time frame. The Strokes, a famous American rock band, were playing at the same time as Flume and Martin Garrix, two incredibly famous DJs. Truthfully, that was one of the hardest times, and you could spot troubled faces walking in circles and trying to decide which show to watch. There were even some daunting souls who tried to run from show to show so that they could catch snippets of everything.

People were and still are arguing about which show was the best one. For me, it was certainly Glass Animals. Taking my personal preference for their music out of consideration, the English rock band was overall ecstatic with their presence. A simple greeting soon scaled to the singer throwing himself in the crowds, having to be held back by security as he tried desperately to join his fans. Even though that is a great example, the best still came last. Instead of performing the song “Pork Soda” like normally, they instead brought various pineapples into the stage due to a line in the song that says “pineapples are in my head” and proceeded to play with them. The singer put one on his head, the keyboardist put one on the keyboard, the synth player used one as a maraca, and the drum player used one as his drumstick. It was something sudden, fresh, representative of the quirkiness and uniqueness that Lollapalooza is all about.

In the end, this Lollapalooza will go down just like its predecessors: awesome. The week after the festival, Graded was filled with conversations and story sharing of things that could only happen in the festival that is Lollapalooza. Many Graded students from all ages attended the festival, and sometimes it is hard to find someone who didn’t go. However, all you need to do is ask one of your teachers, since they have certainly heard from everyone the most popular phrase in that week: “Did you go to Lolla?”