Starting the festival strong with headlining performances from Karol G and Billie Eilish, Lollapalooza 2023 was an event to remember. Huge crowds came in for Noah Kahan, Carly Rae Jepsen and Matt Maltese, bringing the day’s total attendance to roughly 120,000 people.
A stark contrast to the heat of day one, Lollapalooza’s closing day brought about cloudy skies. However, the dreary weather didn’t take away from the day’s stellar performances. Lana Del Rey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lil Yachty, Joey Bada$$ and more brought a storm of festival goers to close out the weekend of live music.
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ELLNORA festival brings diverse range of guitarists
Krannert Center for the Performing Art’s biennial ELLNORA guitar festival, named after the venue’s co-founder, Ellnora Krannert, brings guitarists from across the globe to Champaign-Urbana for a weekend of live music. The festival’s 2023 edition saw performances from Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ani DiFranco, Andy Summers and more.
Ebertfest’s 25th edition celebrated renowned film critic and Urbana native Roger Ebert at the Virginia Theatre April 17-20. Opening with “Star 80” and featuring centerpiece “The Best Man,” the festival saw special guests and panelists such as Sony co-president and co-founder Michael Barker, actress Renée Elise Goldsberry, actor Eric Roberts and more.
Known for her viral music popularized by TikTok, Tessa Violet stopped at her dream venue, Chicago’s House of Blues, on her “MY GOD!” tour in August 2023. The Daily Illini sat down with her after the performance to discuss the creation process behind her album of the same name and expanding her musical journey.
Ax and the Hatchetmen lights up Pygmalion
Chicago-based band Ax and the Hatchetmen stopped at The Canopy Club’s Red Room in September for C-U’s annual Pygmalion festival. The band’s lead vocalist and guitarist Axel Ellis, and bass guitarist Hunter Olshefke, talked to The Daily Illini before their performance about visiting C-U for the first time and discussed the band’s history and the creative world behind their music.
Minnesota DJ duo TWINSICK, consisting of Alex Ingalls and Casey Schneider, stopped in C-U for their “Hard Launch” tour in February. After playing the KAMS LineLeap event in 2023, the DJs were welcomed back to campus by an energetic Canopy Club crowd. Ingalls and Schneider spoke to The Daily Illini about their musical careers and touring the world.
Emily How speaks on future music goals
Emily How dove into her EP “Flight Behavior” in an in-depth interview with The Daily Illini. Releasing her latest single, “Useless,” in March, How has amassed thousands of listeners on Spotify and is a frequent performer at campus venues. The up-and-coming local artist spoke on the difficulties of the writing process and her vision for a full-time music career.
