We’ve jumped from a 40-degree heatwave straight to layering up. That usually also means that festival season is officially over – except for the 2022 edition of Lollapalooza, which took place on the weekend of the 24th of September. The line-up was jam-packed with a variety of international artists, such as Machine Gun Kelly and Tiësto, as well as German heavyweights and newcomers, such as Nina Chuba, Seeed and Casper.
Luckily, both days were light on rain. The festival kicked off on Saturday morning. The German EDM-DJ Alle Farben was therefore the first to grace the extravagant Perry’s Stage inside the Olympia Stadium. His set was a mixture of EDM songs you’d frequently hear on the radio, as well as TikTok-Sounds, such as Louis Theroux’s viral hit “My Money Don’t Jiggle Jiggle”. The TikTok-theme was like a red thread that went through the festival. Everything looked perfect on our little screens – from the ferry’s wheel to the big “Lolla” sign and all the various artistic performances spread throughout the festival grounds.
The two main stages outside the stadium were featuring a mixed range of genres and artists, ranging from Iann Dior to Milky Chance, Apache 207, Machine Gun Kelly, AnnenMayKantereit and then one of the headliners, Kraftklub. One thing that is disappointing to see, is that Charlotte Jane was the only woman performing on the two main stages on the Saturday, except Machine Gun Kelly’s guitarist Sophie Lloyd and Lotta from the band Blond, as well as the band Power Plush who joined Kraftklub for a couple of songs.
The band from Chemnitz had just released their fourth studio album Kargo the previous day and jokingly welcomed the crowd to their release party. I’ve seen Kraftklub a couple of times already about nine or ten years ago, when they were just starting out. The band still manages to create the same intimate vibe at a festival with thousands of punters, even with songs that have been released less than 24 hours prior.
All in all, the line-up made up for the hefty drink prices, with a bottler of water or coke being six Euros including Pfand and Cocktails starting at nine Euros. And though expensive, there was a stunning, diverse range of food available at the festival, starting at the usual burgers, vegan Doners and fries to Pirozhki and chimney cakes in the Wine Garden.
The music didn’t disappoint on the second day either, though. Nina Chuba gathered a massive crowd that mouthed every word to her TikTok-Hit “Wildberry Lillet“, which probably showed every festival organiser, that the young singer has earned her spot on the main stage.
One performance I was really excited to see was Casper, as just as Kraftklub, I’ve been to several Casper-shows around ten years ago. Out of all performances and acts, I’d have to say that his show was my personal favourite from the whole festival – from a stunning stage covered in flowers to a well thought-through set-list of 15 tracks divided into three parts.
The evening and festival were then closed by German heavyweights die Fantasischen Vier and Seeed, as well as the Dutch DJ Tiësto.
All in all, the Berlin edition of Lollapalooza is a fancier version of a festival, that allows you to watch your favourite acts just a short train ride from home.
Keep up with @lollapaloozade on Instagram to see photos and videos from this year’s edition and to stay in the loop for next year’s festival.
Cover photo by Timmy Ty.
