Kirstine Walton for CBS News
Summer is the time to enjoy live music, indoors and out. Scroll through our gallery of some of 2026's leading musical acts, featuring images by CBS News photojournalist Jake Barlow and photographers Ed Spinelli and Kirstine Walton.
Pictured: Bruce Springsteen performed at the United Center in Chicago for his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, April 29, 2026.
Lollapalooza 2026
Jake Barlow/CBS News
A nearly-sold out Lollapalooza returned to Chicago beginning July 30, 2026. More than 100,000 were expected each day of the four-day festival at 11 venues in Grant Park. Select acts were livestreamed on Hulu and Disney+.
With high summer heat and rain forecasted, festivalgoers were advised to stay hydrated.
Haute & Freddy
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The alternative pop duo Haute & Freddy (Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp) brought a carnival theme to Day One of Lollapalooza in Chicago, Thurs., July 30, 2026. Their debut album is "Big Disgrace."
5 Seconds of Summer
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
5 Seconds of Summer, a pop band from Australia, performed at Lollapalooza on Thurs., July 30, 2026. Their most recent album was 2025's "Everyone's a Star!"
Audrey Hobert
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Singer-songwriter Audrey Hobert ("Sue Me"), wearing a VERY long trenchcoat (and having ditched her Groucho glasses), performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Thurs., July 30, 2026. Her most recent album was 2025's "Who's the Clown?"
SB19
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The Filipino boy band SB19 performed their P-Pop hits "DAM," "VISA," "Gento," "Emoji" and "Lawless," at Lollapalooza, in Grant Park, Chicago, Thurs., July 30, 2026.
Empire of the Sun
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The electronic music duo Empire of the Sun, from Australia, performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Thurs., July 30, 2026. Their set list included "Walking On a Dream," "Alive," "High and Low," and "We Are the People."
John Summit
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
DJ John Summit brought his set to Lollapalooza in Chicago, Thurs., July 30, 2026.
Suki Waterhouse
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The actress and singer Suki Waterhouse took the stage on Day Two of Lollapalooza, in Chicago, Fri., July 31, 2026. On tour to promote her third album, "Loveland," released last month, Waterhouse performed "When I Get Drunk (I Want You Boy)," "Notting Hill," and "Back in Love."
Ella Boh
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Singer-songwriter Ella Boh performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Fri., July 31, 2026.
Finn Wolfhard
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Finn Wolfhard, an actor known for "Stranger Things" as well as a musician (previously with the band Calpurnia), performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Fri., July 31, 2026. His debut album was last year's "Happy Birthday."
Freddie Gibbs
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Grammy-winning rapper Freddie Gibbs performed at Lollapalooza Fri., July 31, 2026 in Chicago.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The Smashing Pumpkins returned to Lollapalooza for the first time since 1994. Billy Corgan performed "Thirty-Three," with an assist from guest Olivia Rodrigo. Their set also included "1979," "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Tonight, Tonight" and "Zero."
Lollapalooza 2026
Jake Barlow/CBS News
With storms soaking part of this year's Lollapalooza, the start of Day Three was delayed by rain until 3 p.m.
Father-daughter duo Ella and Sean Humphries, visiting from Missouri, told CBS Station WBBM they had to improvise when it came to rain gear, because they couldn't find ponchos for sale. "We got trash bags – had to get a little creative," Ella said. "We're from the Midwest. We can handle weather, so we're like, let's go have some fun, see what happens."
The Neighbourhood
Jake Barlow/CBS News
The Neighbourhood, an alternative rock band from California (despite the Anglophilic spelling), had to improvise as well during their Lollapalooza gig, when a portion of their equipment didn't make it onto the plane with them. Their livestream was cancelled, and their setup was scaled back. [Pictured: Lead vocalist Jesse Rutherford, performing on the T-Mobile Stage at Grant Park in Chicago, Sat., Aug. 1, 2026.]
Whethan
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Producer and DJ Whethan (Ethan Snoreck) performed on Day Three of Lollapalooza in Chicago, Sat., Aug. 1, 2026.
Yungblud
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The English musician Dominic Richard Harrison, better known as Yungblud, performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Fri., July 31, 2026. His most recent album was 2025's "Idols." His set list included "Hello Heaven, Hello," "Zombie," "My Only Angel" and "fleabag."
Yungblud
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Yungblud is ready for his closeup.
Ethel Cain
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Singer-songwriter Hayden Silas Anhedönia, performing under the stage name Ethel Cain, appeared in Grant Park, Chicago on the third day of Lollapalooza, Sat., Aug. 1, 2026. Her latest album was 2025's "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You."
Spacey Jane
Jake Barlow/CBS News
Spacey Jane, an indie rock band from Australia, performed on Day Four of Lollapalooza, Sun., Aug. 2, 2026, in Chicago. [Pictured clockwise from top left: Vocalist-guitarist Caleb Harper, bassist Peppa Lane, drummer Kieran Lama, and guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu.] Their set list included songs from their 2025 album, "If That Makes Sense," including "Through My Teeth," "Whateverrr," and "All the Noise."
Geese
Jake Barlow/CBS News
Geese, an indie rock-post punk band from Brooklyn, performed at Lollapalooza on Sat., Aug. 1, 2026 in Chicago. Their frontman, Cameron Winter, told the audience that an airline had lost one of their guitars, but that didn't dampen the crowd's spirit.
Their setlist included songs from their fourth studio album, 2025's "Getting Killed," including "100 Horses," "Taxes," and "Au Pays du Cocaine."
Turnstile
Jake Barlow/CBS News
The rock band Turnstile, which won two Grammys for their 2025 album "Never Enough," performed at Lollapalooza on Sun., Aug. 2, 2026, in Chicago's Grant Park. Their set list included "Mystery," "Holiday," "Look Out For Me" and "Blackout."
Beadadoobee
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The British-Filipino singer Beadadoobee (Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus) performed at Lollapalooza on Sun., Aug 2, 2026, in Chicago. Her latest album, "Pylon," will be released in September.
Tate McRae
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
Canadian singer, songwriter and dancer Tate McRae performed on Day Four of Lollapalooza, Sun., Aug. 2, 2026, in Chicago. Her 2025 album "So Close to What" debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Yoasobi
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The Japanese duo Yoasobi performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Sun., Aug. 2, 2026. Their new album, titled "The Book For," was released in June.
The XX
Jake Barlow/CBS News
Sunday, the closing night of the festival, featured headliners The XX, an indie rock/pop band from England. Formed in 2005 by Oliver Sim, Romy Madley Croft, and Jamie Smith, the band released three albums, then took an eight-year touring hiatus as the members explored various solo projects. They reunited earlier this spring, playing in Mexico City, before hitting Coachella.
Their set included "Crystalised," "Islands," "Angels," "On Hold," and "I Dare You."
Red Vox
Jake Barlow/CBS News
Lead singer and guitarist Vinny (widely known on the Twitch streaming community as Vinesauce) fronted the indie rock band Red Vox, in a sold-out show at Chicago's Thalia Hall on July 28, 2026.
Vinny told CBS News that when the band was forming in 2015, after a rehearsal at Red Room Studio, he came up with the name from a dream, asking his bandmates, "What do you think of Red Vox? There's a Red Box, there's a Redd Foxx, and there's a Red Sox." Their reply: "Yeah, let's go with it."
Red Vox has two album releases this year, their seventh and eighth: "Retcon," and "Pigeonhole." "Kind of a double-meaning," Vinny said of the latter, "and we get to have a cute pigeon on the cover."
Rush
Jake Barlow/CBS News
The Canadian rock band Rush, reuniting following the 2020 death of drummer Neil Peart, brought their international Fifty Something Tour to Chicago's United Center, July 18, 2026. The four shows in Chicago were sold out. [The tour concludes next April in Helsinki.]
Joining bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson was touring drummer Anika Nilles. Keyboardist Loren Gold also accompanied them.
The 2.5-hour show featured the "2112" suite, "The Spirit of Radio," "Limelight," "Time Stand Still," "Subdivisions," and "Tom Sawyer."
Limp Bizkit
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The Summer of '99 and Beyond Festival, at Tinley Park, Ill, featured 17 nu metal and post-grunge acts over two days. Headlining the opening date was Limp Bizkit (featuring guitarist Wes Borland and rapper-singer Fred Durst), Sat., July 18, 2026 at the Credit Union Amphitheatre.
Sevendust
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
The rock band Sevendust (pictured: vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and drummer Morgan Rose) performed at the Summer of '99 and Beyond Festival, at Tinley Park, Ill, Sat., July 18, 2026. Their latest album, released in May, is titled "One."
Cypress Hill
Ed Spinelli for CBS News
B-Real, of the hip hop group Cypress Hill, performed at the Summer of '99 and Beyond Festival, at Tinley Park, Ill, Sat., July 18, 2026.