Ice Cream Man

Late last night the press releases went out and Lollapalooza unveiled their 2012 lineup. There had been a lot of speculation and it seemed, like last year, that a lot of people had an idea who was going to be headlining. Since Lolla has two main stages AND a large dance tent they're able to pack 90,000 people into Grant Park and have it not feel terribly crowded. At least that was what it was like last year and everyone seemed to have a great time. The 'big' bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence and the Machine, At the Drive-In, Bassnectar, Aviccii, The Shins and Justice. Per usual for most fests for me these days it's the bands listed below that that really caught my attention. I'm not sure how Sigur Ros will pull off a potential day-time set but they're huge and always great live. Bloc Party is back together and they've always been good at getting people to dance. I'm most happy about The Afghan Whigs cuz this will likely be their first show in the US in a long long time. M83 had one of the biggest songs and albums of last year and I'm sure they'll draw a mighty large audience. Tallest Man on Earth is a bit of a funky fit but he should have a new album out and some momentum going into the fest and should woo anyone needing their folk fix. Dr. Dog is pretty far down the list which is a bummer cuz they rule live and their new album is one of my most listened too so far this year. The shift to younger audiences and more dance music has been happening for years and it was very clear in 2011, with Deadmau5 snagging a headlining spot, that many people just wanted to hang out in the dance tent all day and night. I guess that explains the many DJ's listed near the top. Check out the whole lineup below or at http://lineup.lollapalooza.com/ Lollapalooza 2012 Lineup Red Hot Chili Peppers Little Dragon Orchard Lounge The Black Keys Dr. Dog Mona Black Sabbath Of Monsters and Men The Growlers Jack White Gary Clark Jr. Hey Rosetta! Florence + The Machine Alabama Shakes JEFF the Brotherhood At The Drive-In The Gaslight Anthem Anamanaguchi Bassnectar SBTRKT First Aid Kit Avicii Amadou & Mariam Wax The Shins Porter Robinson FIDLAR Justice The Walkmen JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound Passion Pit Tame Impala Milo Greene Kaskade Sub Focus Los Jaivas The Weeknd Band of Skulls Kopecky Family Band Sigur Ros JJ Grey & Mofro The Jezabels Bloc Party Madeon Nadastrom Calvin Harris Neon Indian LP Miike Snow Zedd DJ Nihal The Afghan Whigs Dum Dum Girls Yuna M83 Paper Diamond The White Panda Franz Ferdinand Washed Out Walk Off The Earth Frank Ocean Aloe Blacc Animal Kingdom NERO Trampled By Turtles Dev J. Cole Bear in Heaven Karmin Knife Party Blind Pilot SALVA Childish Gambino Chairlift The Sheepdogs Delta Spirit The Black Angels The Dunwells Santigold Yellow Ostrich DJ Mel Metric GIVERS Empires Zeds Dead Polica Kevin Devine The Temper Trap Bombay Bicycle Club Dry The River Wale Sharon Van Etten Helena Big Gigantic White Rabbits Haley Reinhart Die Antwoord Doomtree Imaginary Cities Dawes Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Overdoz tUnE-yArDs Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Ambassadors Skream & Benga The Devil Makes Three DJ Zebo The Head & The Heart Oberhofer thenewno2 The Big Pink Star Slinger Moon Taxi Twin Shadow The War on Drugs Chancellor Warhol The Tallest Man on Earth Michael Kiwanuka Laura Warshauer Toro Y Moi O Rappa Red Oblivion FUN. Bowerbirds Kid Color