Originally conceived as a vehicle for Jane’s Addiction’s farewell shows in 1991, Perry Ferrell’s Lollapalooza became an annual touring attraction for alternative music and art between the years 1991 and 1997. Cancelled in 1998, it has since been relaunched in 2005 as a destination weekend event in Chicago’s Hyde Park. Authors Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour have taken it upon themselves to craft the definitive oral history of the event’s creation, demise and resurrection through hundreds of interviews with artists, reporters and roadies alike.

Being that I was quite young during the festival’s initial run (between the ages of 7 and 13), and also completely incapable of traveling to any of these shows, even their limited Canadian dates, I missed out. As an adult in his early 40s, many of the bands who made up the bill can often find themselves in regular rotation on my Spotify playlists, so my interest was easily drawn to this story. It also doesn’t hurt that I absolutely love oral history books set within a certain genre or era of music; bonus points if it’s something I already enjoy.

You have great stories here from the first few years when the tour was at its most powerful and influential, as well as all the in-fighting and controversies over who played the main-stage versus who played the side-stage. It could truly make a band who was just teetering on the edge of stardom, or, in the case of 1992, it could make going to see a thriving band like Pearl Jam feel like a bargain given that they had just broken through as the tour had launched.

The pressure was always there to make the show more accessible for a wider crowd in an effort to make more money, but Ferrell as well as the other founders, wanted the show to retain that indie-spirit that made it feel special. When they finally caved in 1996 and added Metallica as headliners, it spelled the beginning of the end. I found that so interesting given that you would believe that being able to score a band on the level of Metallica would mean that your festival was becoming larger and more significant, but it came with so many restrictions, culture clashes amongst the fans, and logistical challenges that it quickly became a nightmare. The authors did a good job steering the narrative through all the interviews to explain what the festival was trying to do and its struggle to retain what made it so special in the first place.

If you loved EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN: AN ORAL HISTORY OF GRUNGE and SMASH!: GREEN DAY, THE OFFSPRING, RANCID, NOFX AND THE 90S PUNK EXPLOSION, this will be right up your alley. The two authors leave no stone unturned and present the story of the era warts and all.