Lollapalooza expands international reach to Colombia

Lollapalooza, one of the defining US festivals for alternative rock, announced Wednesday an expansion to Colombia as organizers pointed to the country's vibrant cultural life.

The Bogota edition, which will debut in October 2016, marks the fourth Latin American Lollapalooza with festivals already taking place annually in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

"We have had the ambition to bring Lollapalooza to Colombia for some time now, and have found partners who are true professionals and share our passion for the music," said Lollapalooza's founder, Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell.

"Fans in Colombia have a true love of alternative music and we are excited for the rest of the world to find out what we already know about this wonderful country."

The Lollapalooza statement pointed to Bogota's rapid transformation since the start of Colombia's peace process, describing the capital as a "modern and multicultural metropolis."

Jane's Addiction launched Lollapalooza in 1991 as it tapped into a surging interest in the United States for non-mainstream acts.

The festival originally traveled across the United States, but after several years lost its cool factor as critics charged that it commercialized what was at root a counterculture.

Lollapalooza returned in 2005 as an annual festival in Chicago. The latest edition opens Friday with headliners to include Paul McCartney, Metallica and Sam Smith.

The festival has held local versions in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo on successive weekends in March or April, giving a chance for major international acts to hit all three cities.

This year's lineup for the Latin American Lollapaloozas included Robert Plant, Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Smashing Pumpkins.

With plans to be held in October, the Colombian Lollapalooza would be expected to be significantly different than the other versions in Latin America, and organizers said they hoped that non-Colombians would come for the event.

Lollapalooza is also expanding this year to Europe with a first version in Berlin taking place in September.

The growth comes as music festivals boom around the world and particularly in the United States, where artists increasingly see such events as a vital streams of revenue.
Source: AFP