Lollapalooza’s brand of music festival has drawn thousands of mud-caked moshers to the pit for the past 20 years. Back in April, a sister fest hit Chile. Next stop: Brazil. (via New York Times)
Since 1991, Lollapalooza has allowed North Americans to witness a smattering of bands on several stages, acts that in those early days included A Tribe Called Quest, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Moby, Pearl Jam and The Breeders.
Perry Farrell, the steely-eyed vocalist of Jane’s Addiction who kicked off the alterna-fest, expected “10,000 to 20,000 weirdos” to show up at the first show because back then, not everyone was into Rollins Band and Siouxsie & The Banshees, and that wasn’t such a bad thing. In the ’90s, Lollapalooza was more alt-nation platform than alt-music concert, a place for Rage Against the Machine to strip down in protest while Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna got into brawls.
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Fast forward to 2011: It’s a very different event, much more mainstream and lucrative (though crowd-surfing and overpriced beer still rages on), and despite some significant bumps in the road, Lollapalooza since 2005 has remained an annual fixture in Chicago’s Grant Park. The festival now headlines the likes of Eminem, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West, and the 2011 event that ended Sunday pulled in a record attendance of 270,000.
Another new development: Lollapalooza is heading to Brazil.
Farrell made the São Paulo-bound announcement at the festival last weekend, noting the South American country’s rich history of celebration and adding that “there’s no telling what heights that party will reach.”
Earlier this year, Lollapalooza, which had only toured in North America, debuted overseas for the first time in Santiago in April. The 2012 Brazil Lollapalooza festival will be held April 7 and 8 at the Jockey Club de São Paulo, and is expected to draw about 60,000 people a day. Confirmed acts weren’t announced, but promoters say the lineup will be peppered with Brazilian acts.
Do you think Lollapalooza will translate?
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Kai Ma is a TIME contributor. Find her on Twitter at @Kai_Ma or on Google+. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.