At Lollapalooza, an expanded VIP section offers good view for a select few

The general admission fans hoping to get up close to Lollapalooza’s headliners such as Odesza and the Red Hot Chili Peppers might find themselves fenced off and farther back this year.

Organizers added a VIP-only section that now takes up a large swath of standing room to one side of the T-Mobile stage.

As rapper Skizzy Mars performed early Friday afternoon, hundreds of general admission fans pooled to the right of the stage’s sound mixing booth.

But in the freshly gated VIP area, only 40 people watched the show — few enough so that each fan could find a spot on the guardrail a few feet from the artist. There was about 20 yards of empty space behind them.

Madiely Torres sat in the small bit of shade behind the barrier blocking off the almost-empty VIP section. She was holding down a spot as close as she could get for the Kendrick Lamar set scheduled to start in eight hours, she said.

“I don’t like it. I wanted to be right up there,” Torres said of the VIP section.

Full-festival tickets for the special access section cost $1,600 — a steep jump from the four-day general admission price of $385.

The festival has touted the new front-of-stage access as a highlight of the VIP experience. Other perks include lounge areas, golf cart shuttles, and complimentary glitter and hair treatments.

The added section sits behind the small sliver of private space reserved for Platinum ticket holders, who have to pay $4,350 for their four-day, top-tier spots directly in front of the stage.

Festival organizers did not respond to questions about why the VIP section was added. The festival also expanded its daily capacity from 100,000 to 115,000 for the first time this year.

Torres, 18, was surprised by how far back she found herself after getting to the stage early, she said. The Lamar fan was hoping to get closer than she had for the artist’s show in Milwaukee last year, she said.

Still, the first-time Lollapalooza attendee shrugged when asked if she thought the new section was a fair addition.

“I mean, I guess if you pay for it,” she said. “But that’s a lot,” gesturing to the empty space.

The new section worked better for Lindzee McKatims. Last year, her VIP ticket only got her into a few private spots.

“Now the viewing area is significantly better,” she said.

The new section didn’t fill up for the otherwise jam-packed headliner set from Billie Eilish Thursday night, the 33-year-old from Seattle said.

“There were definitely some open areas. And I imagine that’s frustrating for folks who were waiting in GA,” she said.

She remembered how tightly packed the crowd was last year when she stood in the general admission area near the now fenced-off section. There’s room to move around now, McKatims said.

“I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “It’s nice to have a little bit more space.”

Later in the day, Aakasha Shah waited behind the T-Mobile VIP section to watch producer Fred Again’s set, the last before Lamar’s. There was a crowd around him but almost no one ahead in the gated section.

“It’s a lot bigger than what I remember it being in the past,” he said of the gated area. “This is massive.”

The 29-year-old South Loop resident said the new section wouldn’t keep him from coming back to Lollapalooza for an 11th time next year. But it was a little frustrating, he said.

“I think this is way too big. I think maybe half the size would be adequate,” he said. “It takes away a lot from the GA fans.”

Cory Bockenhauer walked away from Sabrina Carpenter’s set into the VIP section looking for air conditioning. The Huntley resident splurged on the high-grade tickets to celebrate his 30th birthday Saturday.

He noticed the perks when he showed up Thursday and got to skip the long line to get inside Grant Park, he said. He had a front-and-center spot to watch Karol G in the Bud Light stage’s VIP section.

“I enjoyed being able to go to the front of the stage,” he said. “I think it’s worth it.”

[ Lollapalooza Day 1: Billie Eilish a fan favorite on opening day — and 2023 is a big year for K-pop ]

[ Lollapalooza Day 2: Fans line up for Kendrick Lamar — and snap up free naloxone kits ]