Your Festival Essentials for Lollapalooza
Your Festival Essentials for Lollapalooza
Heading to Lollapalooza this year? Make the most of attending this epic music festival by taking the right essentials with you. After attending last year, here are our top tips for what to take to Lollapalooza Chicago 2024.
Quick Checklist
- Tickets and ID
- Bag/Backpack
- Portable Chager
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Lip balm
- Sunglasses
- Rain Poncho
- Older Shoes
- Water Bottle
- Hydration Supplements
- Gum/Mints
- Hand Sanitiser
- Tissues
- Deodorant/Perfume
Tickets and ID
First of all make sure you put your wristband on. You will get this before the festival, either in the mail, or if you’re international festival goers like us, you pick it up the week of the festival. This is also how you will pay for everything at the festival.
You’ll also want to take your ID the first time you enter the festival. When you do, find a staff member who can give you a 21+ wrist band. If you’re attending for more than one day, this means you can leave your ID at home for the rest of the festival – one less thing to worry about losing!
Bag/backpack
If you are taking a bag (and you probably will want to if you are going for the full day) make sure you check the bag policy. You will go through strict security every time you enter the festival, including a full bag check.
I had a clear bum bag/fanny pack and it was the perfect size. Plus, wearing it around your waist keeps your belongings safe and you don’t get sweaty! I also had a lanyard phone holder with a pop socket which was ideal for taking photos in a crowd and extra security for my phone.
Portable charger
If you are going to be using your phone a lot, take one. We actually didn’t use ours, but it gave us peace of mind having it with us.
Sunscreen
Make sure it is NOT AEROSAL! A small travel sized one will be perfect
Hat
If it’s sunny you’ll definitely want a hat. Another option is to buy one at the merch tent – I love my bucket hat I bought from there and wear it lots back home.
Lip balm
The days can be hot; one with SPF is smart to have.
Sunglasses
We had some beautiful weather at the festival, sunnies were essential.
Rain poncho
We highly suggest buying this BEFORE the festival starts. We did not and on the day that it rained it was so hard to find any in stores close to Lolla and the prices seemed high.
Tip: If it has been raining and stops, it’s really handy to use your poncho to sit on the wet ground.
Older shoes
If it has been raining, you’ll definitely want an older pair of shoes that you don’t care about getting wrecked – it was super muddy after the rain! We ended up having to leave our shoes at the hotel because they were not savable without a washing machine.
Water bottle
You can take an empty bottle with you. Typically, we wouldn’t suggest single-use bottles, but for Lollapalooza we suggest taking a single-use empty plastic bottle. You can fill up at the hydration stations and then recycle at the end of the day when you are done. It’s just nowhere near as heavy and easier to carry than a reusable bottle. Or go with an empty hydration bladder if you’re happy to wear a backpack all day.
Hydration supplements
Something like Liquid IV is great to take in with you. The little sachets are light, portable, and great to save you during the day in the heat, especially if you are having a few drinks.
Gum/mints
These are also possibly for sale at the Lolla Bodega in case you forget.
Band Aids
Even if you are wearing your comfiest sneakers you can still get blisters!
Hand sanitiser
There was a bit of this around the place, but it was more convenient to have some of your own.
Tissues
Always handy, and just in case the Portaloo’s run out…
Deodorant/perfume
Last but not least. Again, make sure it’s NOT AEROSAL!
Disclaimer: Lollapalooza can change it’s bag policy and prohibited items list at anytime. We would recommend checking out their website before you go. Security was quite strict (which we liked given there were 400,000 thousand people there over the weekend) and they thoroughly checked our bags upon each entry.
In general, Lollapalooza Chicago had great amenities and a lot of what is on this list was available throughout the festival grounds. Be organised, save yourself some time and money, and enjoy the festival more with our suggested essentials. Have the best time at Lolla!
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