Festival season is officially upon us and Lollapalooza has once again outdone themselves with the most Q101-friendly lineup in ages. As you descend on Grant Park this summer, in an effort to maximize your festival going experience, Case has put together a list of 7 under-the-radar bands worth checking out this summer at Lollapalooza.
Bad Nerves
A punk outlet from Essex that have received a seal of approval from Green Day, Bad Nerves have become one of the most adored live acts of the 2020s. Their sound harkens back to the origins of the UK punk scene, but their franticness feels apt for the paranoia that has infected the modern world. They are the type of band that Lollapalooza was founded on. They’re brash, they’re rude, and they’re really, really good. Check out A Case For: Bad Nerves on Q101’s YouTube channel for more information on the band.
The Bends
The Bends entered my life at the end of January thanks to a keen ear in the Q101 Offices who helps keeps me plugged into the most exciting, emerging bands in alternative. I now can’t imagine a life without The Bends. The Louisiana-based quartet have begun a Southern takeover thanks to their stellar performances on college campuses below the Mason-Dixon. No band on the Lollapalooza lineup sounds more like summer than this band does. Basking in the Chicago sun with a band that feels like the heir apparent to the throne that Kings of Leon have held for so long is something that everyone should get to experience this summer.
Case Oats
Case Oats was the last artist that I saw before the world shut down six years ago. On a cold evening at The Hideout, I stood in awe as I watched Oats, who I was unfamiliar with, destroy while supporting fellow Chicagoans in Ratboys. I have followed every move that Oats has made ever since. She has become a standout songwriter in a very crowded space of alt-country-influenced performers. Her highly-anticipated debut record, Last Missouri Exit, dropped last summer and it hasn’t left my rotation since. Oats is the type of artist worth getting to Grant Park early for.
High Vis
We’re coming up on the three-year anniversary of High Vis landing in Chicago for the first time. The post-hardcore outlet from London released their first album, No Sense No Feeling, in 2019, but really began making noise following the release of their follow-up, Blending. That record, one of 2022’s finest, went platinum in my Uptown apartment. I was floored by frontman Graham Sayle’s raw and honest songwriting that was injected into each song on the album. Seeing him in-person inside of a hot, cramped Cobra Lounge gave me an entirely new appreciation for the band. In layman’s terms, Sayle was “going through it”. With each song, he seemed to be reliving the hardships that he so bravely wrote about on Blending. “Trauma Bonds”, the standout track from that record, has become an anthem for maladjusted young adults like myself. Their 2024 effort Guided Tour picked up right where the band left off following years of aggressive touring after the buzz created by Blending. Check out A Case For: High Vis on Q101’s YouTube channel.
Loathe
Loathe hit the road with metalcore megastars Knocked Loose in 2024. Booked underneath Loathe on that tour were hardcore standouts Speed and beloved tweakers Show Me the Body, which puzzled me given that I was intimately familiar with both of those bands and unfamiliar with Loathe. Upon watching body after body cross the barricade in a gorgeous sea of crowdsurfing at The Salt Shed that evening, I realized that I was late to the party. Loathe were on another planet in terms of talent and it became imperative that I get to that planet as soon as possible. If you found yourselves at the Deftones set in 2024, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not seeing what Loathe has to offer this year.
Water From Your Eyes
Water From Your Eyes, who snatched up a supporting slot on Hayley Williams’ much-anticipated and much-sold out spring tour, are comprised of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown. Amos is better known under the banner This Is Lorelei, the clubhouse leader for “your favorite band’s favorite band” in 2026. Brown, along with releasing music under the Water From Your Eyes banner, has a decade of releases under their belt as Thanks For Coming. In short, this indie-pop dream-team rightfully turned heads with the release of 2025’s It’s A Beautiful Place and I can’t imagine their Lollapalooza set being anything less than stellar.
Wunderhorse
Wunderhorse were slated to play Lollapalooza last year but had to pull out at the last minute due to a health concern. Thank God they’re back, as I’ve been undergoing serious Wunderhorse withdrawals ever since seeing them at Metro in early 2025. That set, to this day, is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. I was already very much on-board with the band prior to walking into the sold-out club that night, but I was violently unprepared for the intensity that the band brought to their 12-song setlist. It’s the most impressed I’ve ever been with a band in a singular night. They are, without question, the act I am most excited about come Lollapalooza 2026.
