The past couple years I’ve been on the fence about going to Lolla and haven’t ended up going. Each time, I have mixed emotions about missing the festival. When tickets go on sale, I debate if it’s worth dropping the money. Then, when I can see the festival outside my office window, I regret not being part of the energy that takes over downtown Chicago. But then I remember that I’m too old to be elbowing teenagers to get closer to the stage and drinking wine from a water bottle.

Regardless, this year, I got to experience at least a little bit of the festivities thanks to the Art Alliance, Shepard Fairey and Hennessy. I feel like Shepard Fairey took over Chicago during this year’s Lollapalooza festival. For a week straight, he seemed to be everywhere. The Thursday before the festival, I had the chance to attend a preview of the Art Alliance: The Provocateurs exhibit at Block 37, which he curated.

I really enjoyed the exhibit, and especially liked the works from D*FACE, Dzine, Ernesto Yerena Montejano, Deedee Cheriel, Swoon and of course Shepard Fairey. 

Limited edition print by Faile

Also available at the event were special-edition prints from ten of the exhibiting artists, with just 200 prints of each. I got a print by Faile, a collaboration between two guys named Patrick in Brooklyn – a nice addition to my slowly-growing collection!

The following evening, I was back at Block 37 to see Nas perform at another Hennessy event. Although we had to stand for hours until Nas came on stage at 1:30 am, it was pretty much worth the wait. All throughout his 30-minute mini-set, he had a lot of energy and was in such a good mood, genuinely enjoying himself.