Lollapalooza finally releases lineup to mixed reactions

The International Music Festival will be headlined by Imagine Dragons and The Strokes

Falah Faisal

When it was announced that Lollapalooza was coming to India in July it sent fans into a tizzy with many flocking to buy Early Bird passes that were Rs 7,000 at the time, without even knowing who was going to be on the lineup. Since then the fans had flooded Lolla’s social media asking to release the lineup, but to no avail.

Finally on Thursday morning, after nearly a 5-month wait when the lineup was released and it got a mixed reaction from fans. The highlight was that The Strokes are finally coming to India. The rock band is a favourite of many along with Greta Van Fleet and Imagine Dragons.

Other notable names on the lineup are Cigarettes After Sex, Japanese Breakfast, and Diplo alongside Indian bands like The F16s, Aswekeepsearching, and Kayan. “For a debut festival, Lolla has tried to appease people across all spectrums.

The Strokes are legendary, Imagine Dragons have massive commercial appeal and the likes of Greta Van Fleet, Diplo, and CAS have all sold out venues in the past. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start,” Abhin Shetty who will be travelling to Mumbai to watch the show in January.

Suraj Prabhu who bought early bird passes says, “This is like half the lineup of other Lolla editions. Feels like at least two more headliners are missing and maybe 10-12 midbillings. But 5.5 K for The Strokes is a great deal. I'd honestly sell a kidney.”

But not ever yone is pleased. Shreanca, who woke up at 6 am in the morning to check the lineup, is looking to sell her tickets. “I wanted to watch Japanese breakfast, but honestly didn’t feel like it was worth the hype.

The stay and flights will cost extra and I am not willing to spend that much. I thought they’d do better with the lineup, to be honest,” she says, adding that whoever curated the lineup needs to be fired. A user on Instagram sunflowertapemachine, who is also a musician, said “How are you all complaining?

You get to see The Strokes, CAS, The Wombats, Japanese Breakfast and Greta Van Fleet for under 10k. That’s nuts.” The tickets for the festival that will be held in Mumbai on Jan 28-29 are priced between Rs 11,000 to 65,000 now. We will have to see how many still buy it after the lineup release and how many sell the tickets they have already bought.