Chicago – Oh, Lolla Lawrd! Day two of Lollapalooza was filled with tons of up-and-coming bands, keeping me jumping form stage to stage throughout the day. My feet may have been hurting but the music was jumping, so I ran around Grant Park to fill you in on Saturday’s best new bands.

I entered the festival grounds and noticed a swarm of people bee lining straight for the Bud Light stage. I smiled knowing they were rushing over to see the amazingly talented Vance Joy. Having seen him perform earlier in the year, adding him to my Saturday roster was a no-brainer. The curly haired Aussie is a modern day Jeff Buckley, with a voice and adorable grin to make any lady swoon, and they did. I knew he had walked onto the stage when the ladies started to scream. After “Emmylou” and “Red Eye,” Vance Joy took a moment to take it all in. While fans hollered, he uttered, “Thank you very much. You guys are rad!” What was more rad though, was Mr. Vance Joy dishing out some new material, such as “This Is Mine” and “Georgia,” which he wrote on New Years Day. He finished with the radio hit “Riptide.” All around the field, people could be seen dancing along happily to the catchy tune, a sweet reminder of how wonderful music festivals can be.

After Vance Joy’s delightful set, Parquet Courts brought the rock and some laughs kitty-corner at the Palladia. They joked that Chicago mayor Rham Emanuel had invited them to attend over snapchat. I was really digging the Brooklyn band’s set, but I had to scoot out early to make an interview with Joe Karnes and Jeremy Ruzumna of Fitz and The Tantrums.

Later I hauled it over to the Grove stage and saw Meg Myers. She blew me away when I saw her open for BROODS back in April. After seeing her somewhat inhibited on Schubas’ tiny stage, I was excited to see her spread her wings on this mammoth stage. She did just that, thrashing around to “Make a Shadow” and “Adelaide.” Fans sang along with the petite rocker and cheered her on when she wildly tramped around the stage.

Next up was The Last Internationale at the BMI stage. I must take a moment to praise the folks at BMI. They really booked some solid newcomers this year. Bravo, BMI. Bravo! Now on to business: TLI were magnificent! The trio displayed true showmanship and real honest to goodness rock. The band also holds a real commitment to being politically active and socially conscious. A few songs in, singer Delila Paz shouted a message for President Obama, asking him to pardon Leonard Peltier. The audience cheered and people could be heard shouting, “Yeah!” TLI played a new song, titled “Fire,” off the soon to be released album We Will Reign. I met with the feisty threesome after their set and discussed their new album and political activism. Be sure to keep a look out for the interview!

As the evening drew near, Fitz and The Tantrums took to the Samsung Galaxy stage. Just a few years prior, the neo-soul group played the same stage, making their Lolla debut. This time around, a larger and livelier audience greeted the seasoned pros; people clapped and danced to “The Walker,” Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs energetically jumped all around. The band played songs new and old, showing off how much they’ve grown as artists. In our chat, Jeremy Ruzumna discussed the band’s musical maturity and shift in sound. Stay tuned for what he and Joe Karnes had to say.

Before ending the night with Vic Mensa, I quickly stopped to see Joywave and Smallpools, who will soon be co-headlining a tour with Magic Man. Both bands brought a lot of energy and a decent amount of festivalgoers, but their crowds seemed miniscule compared to Mensa’s overflowing audience. People packed in like sardines to see the twenty-one year old rapper. Bursts of air boomed and Mensa burst onto the stage. The Chicago native screamed, “Yo, it’s good to be home!” Songs off his mixtape INNANETAPE flowed. People chanted “Mensa” and “save money” – SAVE MONEY being Mensa’s hip-hop collective with Chance The Rapper – but things really got rowdy when Chance came on stage during the end of the set, bringing the day’s rumor to life, and pleasing fans.

When Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper finished, the large crowd scattered, rushing over to the main stage to see Outkast with the majority of Lolla attendees. There’s still one more day to go, and we’ll keep posted on all the happenings. Keep checking in with us here and on twitter, whether you’re at Lollapalooza or just taking it all in from your air-conditioned pad.

All Photos By Sarah Hess - http://www.smhimaging.com/

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Sarah Hess

At the age of six, Sarah Hess discovered True Blue by Madonna. This resulted in her spending hours in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush microphone, belting out "La Isla Bonita" off key. Her love for music only intensified over the years thanks to her parents; her mother exposed Sarah to The Jackson Five and had her hustling to the Bee Gees, while her father would play her albums like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Some Girls' from start to finish, during which he'd lecture on and on about the history of rock & roll. Sarah would eventually stumble upon rap and hip-hop, then punk and alternative, and fall madly in love with Jeff Buckley and film photography.

After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.


You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.

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