The out-of-state folks who book Lollapalooza at least make an effort to dip into the local talent pool, resulting in often well-deserved showcases for Chicago-area up-and-comers. Last year’s side-stage performance by Kids These Days was explosive and contributed to landing the band on the “Conan” show earlier this year. Lolla 2012 spotlights several other locals, including the great alt-rock band Empires (3:20 p.m. Saturday, BMI stage), the already sweat-inducing soul group JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound (noon Saturday, Sony stage) and our own suburban “American Idol” finalist, Haley Reinhart (1:10 p.m. Friday, BMI stage).
Another one to watch is Andrew Christopoulos, a senior at Glenbrook North High School (pictured below).
He’s 17, but he’s played in a local band, the Axidents, for six years. Christopoulos plays drums in that band, but at his two (count ’em, two) Lollapalooza slots, he’ll be showcasing his singer-songwriting chops on the piano.
“It’s hard to put a genre on your own music, but I would call it ‘folk rock.’ It’s mostly written for a piano and an acoustic guitar,” Christopoulos told Sun-Times Media. “But I hired a full band, Jackpot Donnie — they’re all older than I am — to back me for Lolla. There will be two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, an organist, a cellist, and me on piano, and singing.”
That all goes down twice — 4 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday — on the Kidzapalooza stage.
(Alyssa Schueneman/Sun-Times Media)Follow @chicagosmusic
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