Concert Tue Apr 26 2011

20th Anniversary Lollapalooza 2011 Lineup Announced

By Lisa White

The mammoth festival that takes over our city each August is back again, celebrating it's 20th anniversary with a lineup of something old and something new. Rounding out the already reported headliners of Foo Fighters, Muse, and Eminem are the addition of Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, and A Perfect Circle.

Given the fact that Muse and My Morning Jacket have graced the Lolla headliner stage before, I was hoping for something a bit more impressive. A big blowout of sorts for the 20th anniversary that Lollapalooza is pushing hard through their time capsule website, or at least something a bit more impressive. If you're going to bring back a headliner, can you at least bring back Daft Punk? Then again I'll always have a small piece of my heart holding out that they'll announce David Bowie and/or Blur headlining. A girl can dream.

The giant plus side of Lolla this year, is the stellar lineup of smaller acts. Whereas I find the headliners a bit weak, I'm really impressed with a lot of the bands billed underneath. Some of my personal highlights are:

• Death From Above 1979 (Reunited and it feels so good! These guys are amazing live, and if you go to Lolla, make sure you don't miss them.)


• Ellie Goulding (British electro tinged popstar trying to break big in the US. Charming catchy glittery pop that will be perfect durning a hot afternoon.)


• Phantogram (These guys blew me away at North Coast Festival last year, so catch them as they rise to bigger and better things.)


• Young the Giant (Long ago these guys were called The Jakes, and we interviewed them. Now they're playing Lolla following a ton of press and SXSW buzz. It's always nice to see a band mature and grow.)


• The Joy Formidable (I just saw this three-piece from Wales at Lincoln Hall, and they were a powerhouse of a sound. Lead singer Ritzy Bryan is both badass and adorable, commanding the stage (and her guitar) with finesse and moxie.)


• Jay Electronica (Another highlight from North Coast last year. When his set was on, he was really on. One of the standout [but sadly few] hip-hop acts at Lolla this year.)


• Daedulus (Another North Coast act from last year moving on up in the ranks. Probably my top rated act to hit Perry's stage this year.)

Another thing to point out is the fact that so many artist that play North Coast and Pitchfork Festival in the recent years now play Lolla. Granted these acts gain popularity and it makes sense for them to move up in rank, but it almost makes the smaller festivals feel like a trial run for some of these acts. If you miss a highly anticipated act at Pitchfork, just wait a year and see them during Lolla. Some of these bands are already skipping this step though (anyone else surprised that Cults is playing Lolla and not Pitchfork?), so maybe Lolla is wising up to this trend.

So readers, what do you think? What big acts are missing? How does Lolla size up to the other summer festivals? Is it worth seeing all these acts for one price on one day, or wait for them to come back around?

Click to see the full festival lineup after the jump.

Eminem
Foo Fighters
Coldplay
Muse
My Morning Jacket
Deadmau5
A Perfect Circle
Cee Lo Green
Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley & Nas
The Cars
Ween
Bright Eyes
Arctic Monkeys
Big Audio Dynamite
Deftones
Beirut
Explosions in the Sky
Death From Above 1979
Ratatat
Crystal Castles
Flogging Molly
Atmosphere
Cold War Kids
Lykke Li
Cage the Elephant
OK Go
Local Natives
The Kills
White Lies
Portugal.The Man
Two Door Cinema Club
Ellie Goulding
Delta Spirit
Beats Antique
The Mountain Goats
Sleigh Bells
Manchester Orchestra
Smith Westerns
Best Coast
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
The Drums
Black Lips
Fitz & The Tantrums
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
City and Colour
Cults
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Noah & The Whale
Sam Adams
J. Roddy Walton And The Business
Tinie Tempah
Lissie
Dom
The Vaccines
Foster the People
Titus Andronicus
Mayer Hawthorne & the County
Chico Trujillo
The Naked and Famous
Phantogram
Rival Schools
Friendly Fires
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Reptar
Maps & Atlases
Fences
Tennis
An Horse
Young The Giant
Los Bunkers
Imelda May
Grouplove
Wye Oak
The Joy Formidable
Lord Huron
Disappears
Walk the Moon
Gold Motel
Iration
Ryan Leslie
TAB the Band
Skylar Grey
Christina Perri
Black Cards
The Pretty Reckless
Boy & Bear
Patrick Stump
Kids These Days
Young Man
The Kingston Springs
Lia Ices
The Chain Gang of 1974
Ximena Sariñana
Typhoon
Electric Touch
Kerli
Ruby Jane
Julia Easterlin
DJ Mel

Perry's Stage

Girl Talk
Pretty Lights
KiD CuDi
The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977
Afrojack
Modeselektor
Skrillex
PerryEtty vs Chris Cox
Chuckie
The Glitch Mob
Busy P
Joachim Garraud
Super Mash Bros.
Jay Electronica
12th Planet
Daedulus
Feed Me
Jackmaster
Collie Buddz
Savoy
Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite
Ana Tijoux
Midnight Conspiracy
L1ght
Lady D