When Stray Kids released their single “MIROH” in March 2019, the then-one-year-old boy band commented to Billboard in an early listening session that they imagined the song’s explosive, anthemic energy could potentially help them get into festivals. More than five years after that release (and five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart), Stray Kids lived up to their festival promise and surpassed it in many ways.
With a headlining slot for Day 2 of Lollapalooza 2024, SKZ arrived in Chicago for the biggest festival performance of their career on Friday night (Aug. 2). This followed major appearances earlier this year at BST Hyde Park in London and I Days in Milan.
Although the group just released ATE, currently their fifth consecutive chart-topper on the Billboard 200, the setlist celebrated their multiple releases since last hitting the U.S. for the Maniac World Tour throughout 2022-2023 with a few special throwback moments that illustrated how far the band has come. With a backing band supporting them as they did in London and Milan, SKZ songs like new single “Chk Chk Boom,” as well as fan favorites like “TOPLINE,” “Lonely St.” and “DOMINO,” all got a sonic upgrade — which noticeably pleased Stray Kids leader Bang Chan, who gave the instrumentalists multiple shoutouts through the night and told them, “Hopefully we get to work together again!” before the set closed.
But amid the heartfelt moments, including what appeared to be an impromptu, fan-dedicated track to close with, Stray Kids also used Lolla as the moment to show the true rock stars that they are on stage as yet another crowning achievement.
Here are the seven best moments from Stray Kids’ headlining Lollapalooza performance.