How to be an adult and have fun at Lollapalooza

If you live in Chicago, you’re well aware that Lollapalooza was this past weekend – whether you’re a fan of the festival or not! As for me, this was my 4th year going, my 3rd year tagging along with my little brother & sister -in-law, and 1st year with Adam. That counts me as a fan of the fest, right?!

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand all of you who say “It’s too crowded” and “I’m too old for that.” I turned 30 this year, guys! I get it! So today, I thought I’d share my tips for having fun at Lolla, whether you think you’re too old or not…

Top: c/o Show Me Your Mumu | Skirt: c/o Show Me Your Mumu | Necklace: Vrai & Oro | Earrings: c/o Bauble Bar | Sunglasses: Loft | Bag: c/o Coach | Shoes: similar | Braided Hairstyle: c/o DreamDry

How to be an adult AND still have fun at Lollapalooza

1. Only commit to 1 or 2 days

I love Lolla, but I don’t want to go 4 days in a row. Isn’t adulthood all about balance and pacing yourself?! Wait for the lineup to be released, pick your favorite day, and go for that. I only went ONE day this year, and that was all I needed to get the Lolla feels, without totally wrecking my Monday.

2. Prepare with a playlist

If you like music at all, you probably like more of the artists that play at Lolla than you might think. Put together a playlist of the ones you know and a bunch you don’t – or just check in with mine on Spotify! Even my brother said he didn’t realize how many bands he wanted to see until he listened to my playlist!

3. Schedule a loose plan with artists you’re excited about

Once you’ve decided what day you’re going and listened to your playlist, schedule your day! It’s always good to be flexible, but you definitely need some sort of game plan. Depending on how many people you want to see, you might not see the whole set of each one, but this will help you stay excited all day! 

4. Avoid Perry’s stage

Honestly, when you hear about all of the drunk/drugged up teens in booty shorts, they’re usually at the Perry’s stage. Wonder why I didn’t take a pic by the LikeToKnow.It wall? Because I don’t go Perry’s! (for real though haha) I’ve never been super into EDM shows, so avoiding that loud, sloppy area is a no brainer for me. No thanks!

5. Stay in the back of the crowds

This one is VERY important! When I have room to dance, I am having infinitely more fun. The whole vibe is electric there, so you really don’t need to be close to the stage to feel it. Case in point: we had tons of room all day, but as we were waiting for Chance, the crowd got SO big, and I got really claustrophobic. We’re pretty sure a barrier of some kind fell down right when he started, too – because all of a sudden everyone behind us started rushing closer to the stage! Luckily, Adam grabbed me and walked me away from the rush… and once I was back in my own space again, I felt fine and ready to boogie! Lesson LEARNED.

6. Go with fun people

For me, it’s all about going with fun loving people who have the same taste in music and who love to dance! You definitely don’t want to be fighting with your crew over who to see next, especially because splitting up is never a good option. As for dancing… why go see live music if you’re not gonna dance, right?! All in all, you want to be with fun people who also want to be there.

7. Adjust your attitude

Even if you avoid Perry’s, you’re still going to see lots of intoxicated people, lots of half dressed underage kids, big crowds, etc. You can choose to focus on that and be negative, or you can take a look around. You have the opportunity to spend a summer day outside, hopefully with some of your favorite people, seeing tons of amazing bands with the Chicago skyline as the backdrop. Focus on all of that, and you just might forget that you’re older than some of the other kiddos there 😉

 

A post shared by Lauren Nolan (@lakeshorelady) on Aug 6, 2017 at 9:07am PDT

 

As for what to wear, festival style means whatever you want it to! I’m a sucker for crop top sets, so I knew I’d wear one version of another – which is why I polled you guys! Most of you picked my pom pom top and shorts when I polled you on insta-stories, but since my steamer broke, I decided to go with this purple tie top and skirt instead. (Both by Show Me Your Mumu!) I was definitely more covered in this set compared to most of the people there, but I didn’t care! It was so breezy and flirty, and matched perfectly with my braided hair by DreamDry. Adam kept saying I looked like a ‘Hawaiian Princess Barbie’ ? I’ll take that as a compliment any day!

So… who’d you see?!

Not only did we have the most gorgeous summer day, but the lineup really delivered for us. We started at Zara Larsson and walked to the stage across the field for Glass Animals. Glass Animals ended up being a little underwhelming, so we crossed the park to see Vance Joy. BEST DECISION. He was incredible – played all of our favorite songs, plus a cover of ‘You Can Call Me Al!’ After that, we went to see Jai Wolf, who is responsible for one of my favorite jams that I discovered in a C2 class at Corepower Yoga! We stayed for his whole set before making our way over to The Head and the Heart. Swoooon. We then walked past Banks to get a spot for Chance, and closed out with him! Solid solid day.

Have you ever been to Lollapalooza?

Shop my Lolla style:

Photos by Ali B Photography

PS. You might also like This Chicago Girls Do It Better Tee, Do You Lolla? and my first Lolla outfit post.