Smashing Pumpkins, Charli XCX headline Lollapalooza 2026 Day Two

On the second day of Lollapalooza 2026, Chicago's Grant Park became a meeting ground between musical eras, as Smashing Pumpkins — native sons of the city — and British pop force Charli XCX each commanded the festival's stages before vast and varied crowds. The pairing was no accident: it reflected a festival that has spent three decades learning how to hold the past and the present in the same open field. In a time when music increasingly reaches listeners through screens and algorithms, the gathering of thousands in one place to witness live performance together carries a weight that goes bey