The lineup for Lollapalooza 2026 and for the first time in a while, it kinda rocks. Is this evidence of a rock resurgence?

When Lollapalooza first launched in 1991, it was a travelling freak show of alt-rock artists, and for the first five years, it was awesome. Then came 1996, when the headliner was Metallica. That seemed…odd. There was one more event in 1997 that didn’t hit, and that was it for a few years.

In the 21st century, Lollapalooza was resurrected. This time, though, it was a shadow of its former alt-rock weird self. Once it was cemented as an annual event in Chicago’s Grant Park on the first weekend of August, it was a popfest with big dollops of hip-hop. Rock acts? Almost nowhere to be seen. *Sigh*

But the Lollapalooza brand and experience remained strong enough for Millennials and Gen Zers, and the festival continued to sell out, even as old-timers kvetched about the good old days.

This year, though, there’s a little more rock than we’ve seen over the last few years. It’s a true multi-generational thing (interesting, innit?) and has a definite alt-rock edge.

Smashing Pumpkins, Lorde, Yungblud, Empire of the Sun, Mother Mother, The xx, Geese, TURNSTILE, We Leg, WolfAlice, and Finn Wolfhard are all on this year’s bill. Right there that four times the rock acts we saw in 2025.

There’s a lot of green bananas here, which the promoter hopes will ripen into something cool by the summer. But consider this: If the promoters didn’t feel something in the wind about a rising tide for rock. Make of that what you will.

Here’s the poster.