Updated

Updated · Rolling Stone · Aug 3

SB19 Becomes First All-Filipino Group at Lollapalooza 2026 as 4-Day Festival Delivers Surprise Guests

Updated

Updated · Rolling Stone · Aug 3

SB19 Becomes First All-Filipino Group at Lollapalooza 2026 as 4-Day Festival Delivers Surprise Guests

Q: What secret events were hidden in the Smashing Pumpkins' week-long 2026 Chicago celebration beyond their Lollapalooza set?

Beyond the Lollapalooza set itself, Smashing Pumpkins’ week-long Chicago celebration, branded “Pumpkinpalooza,” included several offstage events that were not part of the festival performance. The centerpiece was a sold-out intimate underplay show on July 29 at the Riviera Theatre in Uptown, giving fans a rare chance to see the band in a 2,500-capacity room and hear material from across its catalog in a much smaller setting than Grant Park. The band also staged a three-day merchandise pop-up from July 29 to 31 at 900 S. Wabash Avenue, just outside the festival area. It featured exclusive merchandise tied to the hometown celebration. Another tie-in was Madame Zuzu’s Celestial Lounge, an extension of Billy Corgan and Chloé Mendel Corgan’s Highland Park teahouse, where fans could find matcha, records and special items during the festival period. The celebration extended into Chicago’s food-and-drink scene as well. The Aviary introduced a limited-edition cocktail, “Infinite Mellons,” created specifically to mark the band’s Lollapalooza homecoming. So the “hidden” or lesser-known parts of the Pumpkins’ Chicago week were the Riviera underplay concert, the exclusive merch pop-up, the Madame Zuzu’s lounge activation and the special Aviary cocktail collaboration, all designed to turn their Lollapalooza return into a broader hometown takeover.

Q: What really drove the sudden, last-minute main stage upgrade for Slayyyter at Lollapalooza 2026?

It was driven mainly by demand: Lollapalooza organizers expected Slayyyter to pull a much bigger crowd than her original smaller-stage slot could handle. The reporting points in the same direction. Coverage described the move as a “smart” last-minute promotion made “in anticipation of the large draw,” and another account said she was shifted from the Airbnb stage to a main stage because organizers expected a large audience. That expectation proved accurate: fans reportedly lined up for barricade spots hours in advance, and the set drew a massive, fast-growing crowd. Her momentum heading into the festival also helps explain the decision. Slayyyter had been having a breakout summer around her album “Wor$t Girl in America,” with strong streaming traction, favorable “best of” attention and her first meaningful Billboard chart impact. Festival coverage also framed her as one of those artists Lollapalooza likes to catch at the exact moment regional and online hype turns into a real on-the-ground draw. There is no strong evidence in the available reporting that the upgrade was caused primarily by weather or a cancellation. Saturday rain did disrupt parts of the festival schedule more broadly, but the specific explanation attached to Slayyyter’s move was crowd management and surging popularity. In short, organizers saw her buzz translating into a potentially overflowing audience and upgraded her to the main stage to accommodate it.

3 articles · Updated · Rolling Stone · Aug 3

SB19 made Lollapalooza history in Chicago as the first all-Filipino group to perform at the festival, drawing flag-waving A’TIN fans and debuting new song “Lawless.”
The P-pop quintet backed that milestone with tightly choreographed performances of “Dam,” “Gento” and “Dungka!,” with Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull joining them onstage.
Their set stood out in a 4-day Grant Park festival that still produced major moments despite a Saturday rain delay that canceled some acts and shortened other performances.
Lollapalooza 2026 also featured high-profile guest appearances and statements, including Lorde bringing out Charli XCX, Smashing Pumpkins hosting Olivia Rodrigo and Yungblud, and Olivia Dean dedicating a song to immigrants.