Sunday marked the beginning of the end for Lollapalooza 2022. 

It also marked the hottest day of the festival, with temperatures reaching the 90-degree range, and the blazing sun only intensified the sweltering conditions. 

But the weather wasn’t the only one that turned up the heat, especially with a psychedelic set from Djo, an appearance by Chicago-based Beach Bunny and a visit from punk-rock legends, Green Day.

Here’s more on what the hottest sets were on the final day of Lollapalooza 2022. 

Habstrakt keeps the good EDM vibes rolling on the last day of Lollapalooza

Drew Turqueville and Keith Franklin, friends from Tupelo, Mississippi, were throwing themselves into dance when French DJ and house artist Habstrakt performed on Sunday afternoon. 

Turqueville, in a pink tie-dyed shirt at the “Perry’s” venue, said he loves EDM and that he’s been coming to shows at the Solana x Perry’s stage all week. 

Throwing their hands into the air, popping and locking and jumping around, the duo looked to be enjoying themselves as Habstrakt played a solid house set that included new songs like “Outer Space.” 

“I’ve been raging for like the past four days,” Turqueville said with glee. 

Solana x Perry’s, the major venue for EDM music at Lollapalooza, has been partying all week. The beats can be heard by all those walking past, as dancers and moshers kick up dust on the baseball diamond that takes up the front space. 

Turqueville said the energy at the stage was good, adding, “It’s always good — except for the pickpockets there last night.” 

He recounted how one thief stole a friend’s phone, which is unfortunately a relatively common occurrence at Lollapalooza thus far. 

“Everything else is awesome here,” he added.  

Franklin agreed with Turqueville on the Habstrast show, calling it “awesome.” 

“I loved it,” he said. “It was just great. Good vibes man.” 

Djo transports listeners across neo-psychedelia, rock ‘n’ roll 

Djo kicked off his neo-psychedelic set at the Bud Light Setlzer stage under the blazing afternoon sun. He started with a drawn-out instrumental intro before moving into “Tentpole Shangrila” from his 2019 album, “Twenty Twenty.” 

Other songs played include “Personal Lies,” “Ring” and an unreleased tune about Keery’s experience living in Chicago, the city where he received a bachelor’s degree at DePaul University. 

“This song is about Chicago,” Djo said. “This song is about living here and being here and looking back on a nice time.” 

Jaclyn Smiesko and Jordan Tarver from Oswego, Ill., said their love for Djo — or Joe Keery, who is known for his work as Steve Harrington in the sci-fi series “Stranger Things” — is why they were watching his afternoon set at the Bud Light Seltzer stage. 

Being the duo’s first set of the day, Tarver said she hoped Djo would start off their Sunday “with a bang,” though they added that the artist seemed to give off “chill vibes.” 

“He does that he gives more chill, more crazy anything,” Smiesko said. “He sings a lot of sad songs.”

But if Smiesko and Tarver thought Djo’s music gave off chill vibes, the artist’s last tune, “Flash Mountain,” was anything but. It leaned more towards a traditional rock ‘n’ roll song, with a fast-paced drumset and heavier, intensified guitar riffs. 

After the electrifying conclusion to Djo’s set, he thanked the crowd and the city of Chicago itself. 

“Love you forever Chicago,” Djo said. “You’re the best.”

Beach Bunny plays interactive set at Coinbase stage 

Chicago’s own indie-pop superstar, Beach Bunny, took to the Coinbase stage Sunday evening with a set featuring tunes from its earliest hits and its latest album, “Emotional Creature,” released on July 22.  

Poppy Dworak began listening to the band in 2019, and one of her favorite Beach Bunny tunes is “Rearview” from the band’s debut album, “Honeymoon.” 

From Dworak’s previous experience, seeing the band perform live, she remembered how conscientious the band was of its fans, always making sure members of the audience were staying safe and having a good time.  

“They’re pretty interactive with the crowd, which is cool,” she said. “They have a good stage presence. They like to see everyone having a good time. They make sure everyone is safe, which I know is a big thing these days.” 

Vocalist Lili Trifilio stayed true to Dworak’s promise. Throughout the set, she frequently addressed the audience who stood in Grant Park’s sun-soaked grass, asking them to jump and checking in on their wellbeing. 

“Is everyone still having fun?” Trifilio asked. “Nobody feels like fainting or anything? OK, we’re good.”

At one point, Trifilio’s brother Steve came on stage to play guitar for Beach Bunny’s hit tunes, “Prom Queen” and “Sports,” both of which were well-received by festivalgoers who loudly sang along to the lyrics and danced with one another. 

Other tunes on the band’s setlist included “Nice Guys,” “Dream Boy” and fortunately for Dworak “Rearview.” Before the start of the set’s last song, “Painkiller,” Trifilio asked members of the audience to get on each other’s shoulders, many of which happily complied. 

As Beach Bunny played its final tune of the evening, some audience members perched on other’s shoulders, while those still on the ground danced and sang along to the tune. 

Green Day ends Lollapalooza 2022 on a high note at T-Mobile stage

Father-daughter duo Brent and Millie Perrou braved the 13-hour drive from the Washington D.C. area to visit their Chicagoan family members and, of course, see two of Sunday’s headliners perform, one being Green Day’s set at the T-Mobile stage.

Brent said he’s been listening to Green Day for more than 20 years, adding that he enjoys lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s stance on the American society.

“I kind of like his statement on our society. He does it often in a lot of his songs,” Brent said. “We share similar views, and I think he kind of enjoys taking the piss out of the American laziness and all that kind of stuff, so it’s fun to watch. It’s fun to listen to.”

Millie said she hoped the band would play one of her favorite songs, “Minority,” before she and Brent left the band’s set early to see J-Hope perform at the Bud Light Seltzer stage.

Green Day started its set off right, performing popular tunes like “American Idiot,” “Holiday” and “Know Your Enemy.” At one point during “Know Your Enemy,” Armstrong called a fan onto the stage, saying, “Get your a** up here,” and the two shared a heartwarming hug before singing together the lyrics to the song’s chorus.

As the set progressed, a steady stream of people filled the south side of Grant Park, the crowd becoming almost too thick to pass through. Green Day seemed to revel in its growing audience as the band continued its setlist with tunes like, “Longview,” “Hitchin’ A Ride” and “Rock and Roll All Nite.”

The legendary punk-rock band closed out not only its set, but also Lollapalooza 2022 at the T-Mobile stage, with a fireworks display. 

J-Hope’s Lollapalooza set attracts army of dedicated fans 

Like scores of other fans who came to watch KPOP superstar J-Hope perform a night show at Lollapalooza’s Bud Light seltzer stage, Marina Her got there early — really early. 

Her, who was at the Bud Light Seltzer stage almost five hours before J-Hope’s 8:50 p.m. set, spoke after hearing DJ and actor Joe Keery perform under the stage name DJO. 

“This is my first music festival, but I’m here to see J-Hope.” 

Her, a longtime fan of the K-pop rapper, even before the highly publicized hiatus of boy band BTS that led to J-Hope going solo, said they started following BTS in 2013 when the group debuted, and saw them live in 2017.

Her added that they were there to “support” J-Hope on his first time going solo, even as he takes a musical turn towards more “old-school” style hip-hop. 

Though “Army’s” — as BTS and J-Hope fans often refer to themselves as — started early in the day to make sure they got a space on the grass to see their beloved artist, people really started piling in an hour or so before the show. Possibly in recognition of the popularity and anticipation around the show, Lollapalooza announced earlier in the day that they would be moving the start time from 9:00 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.

Fans toted flashlight contraptions called “Army Bombs” that they waved in the air in unison during and before the show, sending out a coordinated response of support for the artist who would become the first Korean musician to headline a major American music festival. 

What was as much a story as the show, which saw J-Hope rapping songs like “More,” “Pandora’s box” and “Arson” in a combination of Korean and English, was the the appearance of Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot at the beginning of the show. 

Introduced by Lollapalooza organizer Perry Farrel, Lightfoot announced, “by decree” (as she unfurled a scroll) that the city had inked a deal to keep Lollapalooza in Chicago for the next 10 years. 

“People have been saying to me, ‘Mayor, we love Lolla, it’s the best thing going,’” Lightfooot shouted to a pumped crowd. 

“I agree. So I’m here to tell you, by decree, we’re going to make sure Lolla continues in the future.” 

Lightfoot unrolled the scroll, which showed a plan with all the next 10 years of Lolla mapped out. 

“Thank you and have fun tonight, and give J-Hope a great Chicago welcome!” she added before exiting ther stage.

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