Pumpkins, Charli XCX Headline Lollapalooza Day Two
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- Smashing Pumpkins made their official Lollapalooza Chicago debut, leaning into material from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (which turned 30 last October), Siamese Dream classics, and their recent album Aghori Mhori Mei, including the track "Edin."
- Billy Corgan was joined by Yungblud for "Luna" from Siamese Dream — Yungblud called it "a dream come true" — and later by Olivia Rodrigo for an acoustic rendition of "Thirty-Three," highlighting the band's generational reach.
- Charli XCX officially kicked off her Music, Fashion, Film tour at Lolla, marking her first festival date since the album's release; she had also made a surprise appearance during Lorde's Thursday headlining set to perform "Girl, so Confusing."
- Charli opened her set with "Rock Music" and closed with "No One Lasts Forever," featuring David Cronenberg's repeated refrain "They are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever" and dancers holding freeze-frame poses — ending with "Oblivion is freedom" flashing on screen.
- Day Two offered four competing headliners — Charli XCX, Smashing Pumpkins, Major Lazer, and Freddie Gibbs — creating what the review called a prime case of headlining FOMO, even as steady rain fell through the day.
- Charli returned to Lolla for the fourth time, having previously played in 2015, 2017, and 2022, with each past appearance showcasing a different phase of her evolution.
Why it matters: Lollapalooza's Day Two doubled as the launchpad for Charli XCX's Music, Fashion, Film tour and a milestone Chicago debut for Smashing Pumpkins, drawing massive crowds despite rain and stacking four genre-spanning headliners that made the night a festival-highlight contender.
