Ten Aussie acts for Lollapalooza 2015

As an indication of how effective the Australian invasion in the United States is, no less than nine local acts have made the final cut for Lollapalooza 2015. The news was leaked overnight by Chicago media.

Heading to Chicago’s Grant Park between Friday July 31 until Sunday August 2 are Chet Faker, Spookyland, Angus & Julia Stone, Sheppard, Peking Duk, Tame Impala, Hermitude, What So Not, DMAs and Alison Wonderland.

Headliners are Paul McCartney on the first day, Metallica on the second, and Florence and The Machine on the third.

Others on the bill include Sam Smith, alt-j, The Weeknd, Tyler the Creator, ASAP Rocky, James Bay, Hot Chip, TV on the Radio, Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs, Gary Clark Jr., FKA Twigs, The Tallest Man on Earth and Glass Animals.

The significant Australian presence is no doubt linked to the fact that Lollapalooza is run by Austin Presents C3 Present, who own Big Day Out. They attended Big Day Out each year, and obviously picked up a knowledge and affinity for the live scene here.

After its hiatus this year, Big Day Out was expected to return in 2016. But AJ Maddah’s Soundwave has already taken BDO’s traditional dates for next year. The question is, after being bought out by Live Entertainment themselves, has C3 Presents abandoned Big Day Out as a travelling festival? And what of long time rumours that BDO was to be rebranded as Lollapalooza Australia?