On Thursday, July 31 at 10:30 a.m, Chicago’s Grant Park is quiet. 

It won’t be quiet for long.

Soon, Lollapalooza’s gates will open and guests will rush in. Closed-off streets will be full, and the festival’s eight stages will be blaring. Vendors and pop-ups will offer everything from Beatboxes to Djo-branded coffee to free Narcan and information on how to use it.

Lollapalooza is about to begin.

The annual festival made plenty of headlines this year — from Olivia Rodrigo’s guest Weezer to Sabrina Carpenter’s guests Earth, Wind & Fire to Doechii’s guest JT (and all three’s packed crowds). Tyler, The Creator made a long-awaited return after cancelling last year. DePaul grad Joe Keery (TTS ‘14), aka Djo, brought his set to the T-Mobile stage. Luke Combs paid tribute to the late Ryne Sandberg.

Lollapalooza is a proud Chicago tradition, and you could have guessed that based on the sports jerseys alone. Cubs, Bears, Red Stars — you name it, there were fans in jerseys. Also included were bright colors, themed outfits and of course, loads and loads of glitter.

One of the first acts of the fest was rock duo Girl Tones, featuring sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe. They said their performance at the BMI stage (featuring surprise guests Cage the Elephant) was one of the biggest shows they’ve played.

“It’s, like, the ultimate (step),” Kenzie said. “I feel very lucky that we have been able to see behind the scenes of festivals before. That has really helped us feel more comfortable, because when you first (start) it’s overwhelming.”

Lollapalooza always hosts new artists, and this year was no exception — 19-year-old Bo Staloch also played the BMI stage on Thursday.

“This is a dream,” Staloch said after his set. “It’s so much fun. I thought (the set) was one of our best.”

For newer artists like Staloch — and even bigger ones — a Lollapalooza performance can be nerve racking.

“I was freaking out,” Staloch said. “I have a great band, and they’re my best friends, so just being with them and taking it easy (helps), and my manager is always good at keeping me calm and collected. (I) lean on the people around (me).”

Indie pop artist Caroline Kingsbury echoed the sentiment, saying she was glad to have a support system around her.

“It was so surreal. I had my mom and my childhood best friend there, and like, an entire gaggle of gay people with me,” Kingsbury said. 

As a queer artist in the music industry, Kingsbury said it’s important to her to create a space for her “community.”

“I’m just making music for myself and for my community and anyone else who f—s with it,” Kingsbury said. “My queerness is an essential part of my story and my songwriting. … I’m not a pop star that is trying to manufacture a reality in my lyrics.”

On Friday, half•alive brought their own community to the Tito’s stage. Singer Josh Taylor and bassist J. Tyler Johnson wore bright red. Taylor danced and jumped around for practically the entire show. It’s a little different from some of the rock bands you see.

“I don’t think anyone else in our genre is doing any dance things on stage,” Taylor said. “But I also think most of the stuff that we hear … is maybe more nihilistic in message, and ours is … more hopeful. I think people connect as a way to be more emboldened, be more seen, … rather than, like, be encouraged to burn everything afterwards or something.”

Every artist seemed to bring a different kind of feel and community together. On Thursday and Friday, children’s artists Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players played sets at Kidzapalooza, the area for families and young children.

“It was kind of amazing, because I’ve been doing this a long time,” Roberts said. “Someone came up to me afterwards from Minneapolis — I was the first concert she’d ever gone to, and then she was here as an adult. It’s nice to know there’s people that are still enjoying music.”

Roberts’ experience at Lollapalooza is a bit different from other artists’ — he said it takes a unique approach to keep his young audience engaged.

“Early on, I was a preschool teacher, so I was used to keeping kids engaged,” Roberts said. “It’s a lot of call and response and body movement and shouting things out and just bringing it back to the audience being a part of the show.”

Speaking of the audience, But perhaps no audience was more involved than for Role Model’s set performed at a packed Tito’s stage on Thursday, and the crowd was very involved. The moment Tucker Pillsbury, aka Role Model, took the stage with his guitar, his fans were screaming and singing along — and barking at Pillsbury, too.

There’s a moment in every Role Model set when he brings out his “Sally” — a reference to his song, “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” For the song’s bridge, a guest joins the band onstage and dances their heart out (and often goes viral). At Lollapalooza, The Dare was Sally.

When the musician and fellow Lolla performer (and close friend of Charli xcx) appeared on stage, the crowd went wild.

Even when bodies were shoved in like sardines on the baseball diamond on which Tito’s stands, there was a feeling of camaraderie — like from the eight or so people who helped a few journalists climb into the press lane.

Truly, the mood in the crowds at Lollapalooza were generally positive — despite some fights, faints, drug use and health issues (the medics at the fest stayed very busy), there was a friendliness and solidarity in the air that are not givens at concerts of this size.

“I’m kind of surprised today; it’s been a pretty tame crowd,” said DePaul grad and Lollapalooza attendee Dre Lapsys. “It’s super cool to see the IRL moments come together.”

One IRL moment was a performance on Friday by Jesse Detor and her band, who played Lollapalooza as part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, which sends students to gain real-world experience in the music industry. With “Mean Girls”-esque imagery, Detor, drummer Daisy Soper, bassist Sam Anderson and guitarist Emma Harner started their set with a bang and didn’t stop until it ended 30 minutes later.

It seems there is a spot for anyone who wants to join the Lollapalooza community.

Bill Enright has attended every Lollapalooza since 2005, when the fest switched from touring to staying in Grant Park.

“The thing that I remember most was … on Sunday, about 6 p.m. there was a new band on the south stage that I’d never heard of, and I fell in love with them,” Enright said. “They’ve become one of my favorite bands: … Arcade Fire. So that was like, wow. This festival is going to be great.”

Enright said Lollapalooza has grown over the years, but that it’s kept its charm.

“Every year that I’ve been doing this, I always think, I don’t know if I want to do it this year — I said I’ve done it, been there.” Enright said. “But every time we do it, I’m like, I can’t get enough of it. It’s always exciting.”

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