We were at the festival in Berlin and will show you the most beautiful live photos here.
The Berlin edition of the global brand Lollapalooza took place in Berlin for the seventh time. The festival has been based on the grounds of the Olympic Stadium since 2018. We were there.
This year again at the beginning of September in Berlin it’s “It’s Lolla time!” And so, in addition to music fans and families with children, the self-proclaimed creator scene also makes a pilgrimage to the Olympic Stadium to cut off their piece of cake from what is probably the cleanest and most peaceful festival in the republic.
The line-up is once again pleasantly diverse. Genre boundaries are completely ignored and in addition to electro stars such as Ski Aggu and David Guetta, there are also numerous newcomers and established artists from rap to folk.
Saturday afternoon = firmly in women’s hands
Saturday afternoon is firmly in women’s hands. In addition to Mimi Webb, Domiziana and Ayliva, Lauren Spencer Smith and Ava Max in particular caused tears to break out in the front rows. It’s nice to see that young women prefer to cheer for female acts rather than plastering their children’s rooms with boy band posters. This trend is welcome to continue. This is also ensured by Zara Larsson, who delivers the strongest performance of the afternoon with a congenial set, and Moonchild Sanelly, who simply moves parts of her gig to the audience to shake hair and hips with her fans. As different as all artists are, they are perfect examples of the fact that women definitely work at festivals. Lollapalooza has also secured the most promising newcomers: champagne friend with an unmistakable voice futurebae and dance hopeful Julie Pavon from Denmark.
Hawaii toast, fiery garden gnomes and indie folk
For dinner, the king of electrolore, Alexander Marcus, serves a delicious Hawaiian toast on the Perry’s Stage in the Olympic Stadium and gives an entertaining rendezvous in front of a well-filled hut. As usual, Marcus belts out hits like “Papaya”, “Mega” and the aforementioned party snack, dressed in colorful outfits. Anyone who has then developed an appetite can treat themselves to various delicacies on the premises, from game burgers, fries, crepes to cheese spaetzle – if there is still enough credit left on the cashless chip. The prices are steep, Lollapalooza is not for those on a tight budget. This doesn’t seem to bother the visitors; for most people the festival only happens once a year. Kidzapalooza, the area for young festival talent, is also back at the start. However, it would be desirable if the parents would fulfill their educational mandate and leave their children exactly there. Infants on the infield and elementary school children have no place with rappers with explicit lyrics.
The evening’s headliners are Mumford and Sons, who take their audience by storm with a magical set. The second song in the set is “Little Lion Man”, the smash hit from the 2009 hit album SIGH NO MORE. Even after all these years, Marcus Mumford still puts just as much passion into his voice and the rest of the band is playful and balanced. At the end of the evening, the choice between the generic dance set by David Guetta and the expectedly varied set by exceptional artist Alligatoah is easy. The Perry’s Stage is increasingly filling up for the German-speaking rapper and anyone who chooses the Krokodil and his top band will be rewarded with a fantastic set peppered with old and new hits. Alligatoah once again impressively shows why he plays in the A-league of national artists. In “Fuck him” there is actually the sung “garden gnome who blows flames” and Sido himself stops by for a guest appearance in “Monet”.
“We won’t come together this cold anymore”
For the second day of the festival, the organizers have brought in some really big names. The afternoon highlight is undoubtedly the Viennese from Bilderbuch. Their poppy, funky indie sound is well received and Maurice Ernst on the microphone insists on sarcastically pointing out the commercial nature of the festival. Big love for Ernst, who can’t help but give a loud “LOL” to Deutsche Bahn when he mentions the sponsors. The fans bravely held out in the sun at over 30 degrees and celebrated the set of the Austrians, who also heated up the square in front of the MainStage North with their hits “Bungalow” and “Spliff”. “We won’t come together this cold again,” predicts Ernst.
The future of indie rock is also taken care of, because the British Lovejoy impressively prove on the alternative stage that the next generation of indie kids is already in the starting blocks. Meanwhile, the main stages are played by Jason Derulo, who comes along musically impressive, but with his macho stage show causes cringe alarms in one or the other. Macklemore Afterwards, however, he shows that it is also possible to be “friendly” and puts on an excellent gig. The American performs close to the audience and doesn’t leave out any of his hits (including “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t hold us”).
However, we have the headliner slot Imagine Dragons well deserved from Las Vegas. What a live band! Singer Dan Reynolds uses the entire length of the stage walkway while the band stays in the background. It’s well known how good Imagine Dragons are on record, but the fact that this group goes one better live might surprise some people. “Thunder,” “Radioactive” and “Believer” are the highlights of the set. Imagine Dragons are ending Lollapalooza 2023 in the best way possible.
Instagrammable
The festival ended with over 60,000 visitors and the police praised the peaceful nature of the festival. If you’re busy taking the best photo for your Instagram account, you don’t have time to argue. In addition to the music, for many people the focus is also on the self-promotional aspect. The scenery is there and you can also get festival hairstyles, stock up on the right outfits at Fashionpalooza or find out about sustainability in the Green Kiez.
The date for 2024 has already been set, Lollapalooza Berlin will take place on the 7th/8th. September will take place at the usual location.