6 Reasons To Be Psyched For Lollapalooza 2019, From J Balvin’s Historic Set To Dancing With Shaq

Starting tomorrow, Aug. 1, the iconic Lollapalooza festival, launched as a touring show in 1991, returns for its 14th year at Grant Park in Chicago. The four-day event has plenty of big-name and rising acts on the bill to have you dancing until Sunday night, including GRAMMY winners Childish Gambino, Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves, Flume, H.E.R. and Lil Wayne. GRAMMY nominees Janelle Monáe, Death Cab For Cutie, Tame Impala, 21 Savage and J Balvin—who will make history during his headline set—will also bring fire to the fest, along with Rosalía, the Strokes, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Meek Mill, Maggie Rogers, King Princess and many more.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tag 1 person not going to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lolla?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lolla</a> so they'll know where you are TOMORROW!!! <a href="https://t.co/bp5FC2XOya">pic.twitter.com/bp5FC2XOya</a></p>— Lollapalooza (@lollapalooza) <a href="https://twitter.com/lollapalooza/status/1156538543092699136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Between the massive fest's eight stages and stacked lineup, there's plenty of music to get lost in and excited about. But the fun doesn't stop there: The mile-long outdoor venue will be packed with fun, and an insane offering of official Aftershows will bring many of your favorite artists to intimate venues around the city. Read on to find out six big reasons to get excited for Lolla 2019.

J Balvin's Historic (& Colorful) Headline Set

Latin GRAMMY winner Balvin has made waves with his joyful, global-airwaves ready take on reggaeton. Earlier this year, he brought pure joy to Coachella's main stage, with backup dancers dressed as clouds and cookies and surprise cameos from fellow Spanish-language heavy-hitters Rosalía and Bad Bunny.

When he takes the stage this Saturday night at Lolla, he will make history as the fest's first Latino headliner. Especially given that one of his major drives as an artist is to break barriers for fellow Spanish-speaking artists and allow Latinos to shine front and center in the global spotlight, this will be a moment not to be missed.

"I want to change the perception about Latinos worldwide. I think people don't know yet how cool we are," Balvin told The New York Times in 2016. "When you see a movie, they always put the Latino on the bad side or in a tacky way. It's not like that. Latinos are shining like a diamond." Shine on, Mr. Balvin. You can catch his glow at 8:45 p.m. Saturday night.

Rosalía's Fresh Take On Flamenco

Latin GRAMMY winner Rosalía, hailing from Barcelona, has also been creating a buzz with her unique brand of música en Español, which is directly influenced from her years studying her country's traditional music and dance, Flamenco. With her captivating voice and empowering lyrics, she blends flamenco claps—palmas—and exclamations—gritas—with infectious electronic beats that she co-produces with El Guincho for music that gets you moving (and maybe even crying).

Rosalía also performed at Coachella this year, as a special guest of Balvin's and for her own much-buzzed about Friday performance, as well as at Lolla's Argentina and Chile fests. With killer outfits and choreography backed by her squad of fellow badass women, her live performance will suck you into her artistic vortex. You can watch her magic Sunday night at 6:00 p.m.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">i didn’t say- <a href="https://t.co/aZQ5k4QnpB">pic.twitter.com/aZQ5k4QnpB</a></p>— K A C E Y M U S G R A V E S (@KaceyMusgraves) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/1117112046359912449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour

Earlier this year at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, country-pop queen Kacey Musgraves earned both Album Of The Year and Best Country Album for her dreamy fourth studio album Golden Hour, along with two other wins for its singles. She has fully stepped into her new role as the vibey sunset queen, performing at several big festivals during the coveted sunset slot.

Starting with a beloved Coachella golden hour set, she brought her powerful voice, coy lyrics and Southern charm (hello, yee-haw jokes!) to other fests this summer, including Governor's Ball and Bonnaroo, during the set time made for this golden lady.

"All that I know, is you caught me at the right time / Keep me in your glow, 'cause I'm having such a good time with you," Musgraves sings on the LP's title track. You can enjoy the glow with her on Sunday at Lolla at her 6:30 p.m. performance.

DJ Diesel, A.k.a. Shaq, Is Ready To Get You Dancing

It may have been a few years since retired NBA MVP Shaquille O'Neal wowed the world with his skills on the court, but when he's not on the sidelines as a sports analyst/commentator, he's busy with his other passion: music. In 1993, he tried out his rap skills and released his first (platinum!) album, Shaq Diesel. He has been making the rounds as a DJ since his first major gig at TomorrowWorld 2015, although, as he recently told Beats1, he has been DJing since 1986.

Recently, he's been on a roll with DJ career—he goes by DJ Diesel now—performing his favorite bass, dubstep and hip-hop selections at more big EDM fests like Tomorrowland in Belgium and nightclubs across the globe for his Summer League 2019 tour.

You may even get to dance with him at the crowd like the stoked Tomorrowlanders that got to rave with him, as witnessed in the amazing video (below) Shaq shared on his Instagram.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0G6qtSAuW6/" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0G6qtSAuW6/" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0G6qtSAuW6/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Sometimes is better to party WITH the people, than for the people ! @tomorrowland</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/djdiesel/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> DJ DIESEL</a> (@djdiesel) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-07-19T20:37:40+00:00">Jul 19, 2019 at 1:37pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Over 55 Aftershows To Keep You Groovin' All Week

Whether or not they're planning on attending the festival each day, many Chicago residents will no doubt find their way into one of the many official Lolla Aftershows held around the city. According to Lolla, this year there are over 55 shows and 110 artists offered, offering a chance to see many of the acts in a more intimate setting. Indie-rock standbys Death Cab For Cutie will be performing a sold-out show at the Metro on Thursday night, while Hozier will take it over on Wednesday. Gary Clark Jr. and Fantastic Negrito will bring the vibes to the Metro on Friday, followed by Musgraves on Saturday and Louis the Child closing it out with their lively Playground party on Sunday.

And that's just one out of 23 Aftershow venues! FISHER and RÜFÜS DU SOL will have the clubs going up on a Thursday, at Soundbar and Spybar respectively, with RUFUS also offering a live show at the Vic Theater on Wednesday night, before the bring the vibes to their Thursday evening performance at the fest. The 10th Annual Lollapalooza Sideshow, co-hosted by Chicago's Queer Pride org and C3, who runs Lolla, will bring circus-style entertainment and great music, from King Princess and several DJs to the East Room.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Pop-up LollaShop across the street from Grant Park at Jackson and Michigan is open NOW! Shop early and often before, during, and after Lollapalooza. <a href="https://t.co/TxVwCz1j1I">https://t.co/TxVwCz1j1I</a> <a href="https://t.co/ABCSQoyho6">pic.twitter.com/ABCSQoyho6</a></p>— Lollapalooza (@lollapalooza) <a href="https://twitter.com/lollapalooza/status/1156251921214316546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A Mile Of Fun Around The Park

From Chow Town, where you can enjoy a taste of the best local noms Chicago has to offer, to Lolla Cares, which can help you get involved with impactful nonprofit organizations, including the Obama Foundation, HeadCount and MusiCares, there is plenty to do in between your favorite artists' sets.

And when you're not eating everything in sight, you can live your best life on the roller-skating rink or going shopping at booths from local vendor and the extensive merch offerings, as well as find the brands giving out swag and experiences, like American Eagle's free fanny packs.

Stay tuned to GRAMMY.com for exclusive interviews and content during Lolla 2019. You can view the full schedule and save your favorites on Lolla's website, where you can also find the Aftershow list and other helpful info like the app and a map. Have fun, stay hydrated and we'll catch you out there, or from your couch as you peep the fest's livestream.

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