At Lollapalooza 2025, I had to keep reminding myself to take in the moment.
It was my first Lollapalooza ever — while I love live music, I haven’t historically been a festival person — but performers like Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, and KATSEYE made living in the moment easier than I thought. I wasn’t really paying attention to the heat, or the long days, or any discomfort I may have been feeling as a festival first-timer. Instead, I was enjoying the energy, the palpable crowd, and of course, the talent.
Come along with me, Teen Vogue’s art director, through my experience at Lollapalooza 2025: featuring some sweltering days, amazing music, and plenty of Dove deodorant.
The VIP setup, hosted by Dove, certainly helped. I attended Lolla days three and four with the brand, who offered up a nicely shaded cabana for their cleverly named Hot Seats guests. They also put us up at the Pendry Hotel Chicago, where they provided us with a plethora of goodies to keep us well-prepared, including but not limited to: their Whole Body Deo (spray and solid), Emi Jay hair clips, portable fans, Welly bandages, glitter, hydrating snacks, and more. Without a doubt, these creature comforts continued to put my nerves at ease as the days progressed.
Once I settled in at the Hot Seats cabana on my first day, I glanced around at the other attendees, who appeared to be well-versed on the general run-of-show, while I tried to determine my next move as a sheepish Lolla first-timer. Fortunately, the other cabana guests put me at ease, welcomed me, and asked me who I was most excited to see perform: Doechii!
Some folks leisurely sprayed themselves with Whole Body Deo — which came in handy especially given the sheer amount of hours we sat out in the heat of the day — while others sipped complimentary drinks and waved “You Look Hot” fans. I posted up on an Eames-style bar stool that overlooked the T-Mobile stage where Marina was finishing up her current set.
The chaotic nature of the music festival drove me to obsessively check my phone to make sure I wasn't missing anything on the schedule. Fortunately, Doechii was up next. Despite the 7 p.m. time slot, Doechii immediately gave headliner energy as she took the stage, making a quippy reference to her Met Gala umbrella moment and also announcing her upcoming Live From the Swamp tour, set to kick off in Chicago on October 14. All the while, she danced off the stage and into an albino-alligator-wrapped car with “DOECHII TOUR” written across the sides.
After a solid few performances under my belt, I somehow entered the fourth and final day of the weekend feeling more confident than before. I was eager to fully immerse myself into the fun of the festival with a performance by KATSEYE — a group I had gotten to meet this past spring in the hills of Malibu while on set for our cover shoot. The crowd screaming “Gnarly” in unison was pretty magical.
Having the luxury of complimentary craft services, ample shade, and a line of products that kept us smelling (and feeling!) our freshest made our particular experience incredibly comfortable. When not seated under the shade of the cabanas, we also explored various food stands and merch booths scattered throughout the park. Among the crowd was also the Dove Hot Seats pop-up that ended up handing out over 100,000 samples to attendees.
By Sunday evening, my +1 and I were faced with the difficult decision of having to choose between Sabrina Carpenter and A$AP Rocky. In an effort to avoid at least some inevitable FOMO, we decided to split our time between both headliners. We started our walk back toward the shuttle area around 9:30pm as Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Let's Groove” began simultaneously blaring through the speakers while Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson took the stage to sing alongside Sabrina.
I felt immediate regret as our streamer-emblazoned golf cart thwarted us ahead into the unknown. But as we hightailed it down the sidewalk, the approaching boom of A$AP Rocky’s voice through the evening air instantly turned my regret into excitement. The most memorable moment during the second half of Rocky's set was the surprise and delight of his House of Pain “Jump Around” cover, followed by Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which sadly got cut short due to him being over time.
After a jam-packed weekend, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly fulfilled. An experience like this is one my teenage self used to dream about. Despite feeling incredibly millennial amongst the generally younger-leaning Lollapalooza audience, I still felt an energetic pep in my step that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was quickly reminded why seeing live music is so special, and so important, as is experiencing that same sentiment with a group of people.
While Lollapalooza proved to be an absolute blast, it also required a lot of walking, stamina, and overall preparation. But if you are both passionate and prepared, you will be just fine. Check out some tips for a first-time Lollapalooza goer below.
Tips for Lollapalooza (and other festival) first-timers:
- Wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes (like sneakers or boots) as there will be a lot of walking on a variety of different terrains including pavement, dirt, mud & more. I promise you won’t regret it
- Stay extra, extra hydrated
- Don’t wear anything too precious because it will likely get dirty, damaged, or stained. If that doesn’t bother you, then have at it
- Be aware of crowd crush, and of your surroundings at all times
- Bring a (fully charged!) portable charger for your phone
- Pack efficiently (don’t bring TOO much, just the essentials, including deodorant!)
- Plan ahead as much as possible with your schedule and how far you’ll need to walk from place to place both inside and outside of the festival grounds
- Pace yourself
- Be safe & have fun!
