7 lesser-known artists to check out at Lollapalooza!

By Arman Saxena     8/2/25 10:34am

Grant Park’s headliners will draw the masses, but the real bragging rights come from catching tomorrow’s favorites before your roommate has added them to the group Spotify. There are so many great artists performing, and if you float from stage to stage, you just may find your next musical obsession. Here are some possible contenders: 

Benches

For fans of: The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys

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If you still spin “Is This It” and “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” like sacred texts, Benches will feel custom-made for your earbuds. “Wishful Thinking (At Its Best)” resurrected that wiry post-punk revival tone, and the “Kill the Lights” EP cranks it louder, more synthy and more urgent. Front-to-back standouts “Naive” and the title track weld electric guitars to lyrics about self-sabotage and regret. Expect a rail-rattling half hour of sweaty guitar catharsis.

Caroline Kingsbury

For fans of: Chappell Roan and MARINA

L.A.’s synth-pop firebrand writes stadium hooks for the queer daydreamer. Her debut LP “Heaven’s Just a Flight” shimmered like an ’80s prom filtered through a VHS lens.  The new track “Shock Treatment” cranks up the fluorescent voltage, arriving in dance-pop euphoria and flipping conversion-therapy tropes on their head. 

hey, nothing

For fans of: Bright Eyes

Atlanta duo Tyler Mabry and Harlow Phillips call their style “emo-folk,” but don’t confuse quiet with soft. Their style lands somewhere between Bright Eyes and early Phoebe Bridgers: witty, raw and bracingly specific.

Nourished by Time

For fans of: Tirzah and mk.gee

Marcus Brown cut “Erotic Probiotic 2” alone in his parents’ Baltimore basement on a $0 budget and wound up being named Pitchfork’s Best New Music in 2023 and landing an XL Recordings contract. His baritone glides over synth stabs, freestyle drum machines and lyrics that bounce from capitalist despair to break room romance. The new “Catching Chickens” EP keeps that time-warped house-funk intact while sharpening the political teeth. 

Wasia Project

For fans of: Billie Eilish and Laufey

Siblings William Gao and Olivia Hardy mix classical music chops with Gen-Z heartache, crafting orchestral indie-pop that swells like a film score then drops to a whisper. Debut album highlight “Impossible” layers lush piano over drums and bass; newer track “Takes Me Back Home” adds sweeping strings and jazz chords that flex their classical training.

Xaviersobased

For fans of: Sickboyrari and OsamaSon

Those well immersed in the underground cloud rap scene have probably been aware of Xaviersobased since “Crisp Dubs” dropped in 2021. “WITH 2” levels up: psychedelic, space-age beats that collapse atmospheric trap, drum-and-bass and cloud rap into one woozy soup. His flows dart between shitpost humor and genuine vulnerability, proving SoundCloud-core can have feelings. Expect mosh-pit 808s, anime samples and the energy of an artist who’s barely older than the average Rice Owl.

Xdinary Heroes

For fans of: Dreamcatcher and Fall Out Boy

Imagine Fall Out Boy’s melodic punk punch filtered through K-pop: that’s Xdinary Heroes, JYP’s six-piece rock band. Debut single “Happy Death Day” hit Billboard’s World Digital chart; follow-up EPs “Hello, World!,” “Overload” and 2023’s “Deadlock” splash emo chord changes, synth flourishes and double-kick fireworks across songs full of break-neck fun. 

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