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Life + Culture

From Fujii Kaze To Linkin Park: ELLE India’s VIP Weekend At Lollapalooza India 2026

Two days, four stages, global headliners and homegrown heroes—and the kind of weekend you’re still thinking about.

| Ekta Sinha
Lollapalooza 2026
Photographed by: Sawani Chaudhary

Every January, Mumbai waits for this weekend. It’s a familiar kind of anticipation, one that builds slowly across group chats, calendar reminders, and outfit moodboards. Lollapalooza India 2026, Produced and Promoted by BookMyShow Live, isn’t just a music festival anymore; it’s an annual music pilgrimage. A cultural marker that tells you the year has officially begun. You don’t ask if you’re going, you ask how you’re doing it this time.

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This year, ELLE India experienced the festival as a VIP, where the scale felt grand yet surprisingly intimate. Walking into Mahalaxmi Racecourse was like stepping into a city that only exists for two days a year, one fuelled by sound, style, and shared memory. Elevated viewing decks, seamless movement between stages, and unobstructed sightlines offered a rare luxury at a festival of this scale: the ability to be close to the music without losing yourself to the chaos that defines Lolla.

Day 1: When the bass drops and time blurs

There’s a particular kind of adrenaline that kicks in when the gates open and the city dissolves into sound. Day 1 roared to life with Playboi Carti making his first major India appearance, and the main stage instantly became a living organism. From our VIP perch, we watched a sea of bodies ripple through ‘FE!N!’ and ‘Pop Out’, the Opium collective (Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang included) turning Mahalaxmi into a moving mass of black tees, raised phones, and pure chaos.

YUNGBLUD followed, feral and fearless, his voice slicing through the dusk with ‘Zombie’ and ‘Hello Heaven’. It was the kind of set that reminds you why live music still matters, raw, unfiltered,d and loud enough to drown out everything else. And then, the mood shifted. Fujii Kaze stepped in with a piano, and a hush fell over the crowd. ‘Shinunoga E-Wa’ floated across the grounds, tender and aching, and from where we stood, it felt like thousands of people were breathing in sync. One of those rare festival moments that doesn’t ask for noise, just presence.

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The night kept shapeshifting. Knock2’s ‘Dashstar’ detonated the dance arena, The Midnight wrapped us in neon nostalgia with ‘Sunset’ and ‘Los Angeles’, while Mother Mother triggered mass sing-alongs with ‘Hayloft’. UK acts Hamdi and Hot Milk brought their own punch, and somewhere between stage hops, Indian artists claimed the spotlight—Ankur Tewari & The Ghalat Family’s ‘Gehraiyaan’ hit home, MU540 turned the dance arena electric, and Gauley Bhai quietly won hearts.

The real flex, though, was fluidity. To discover. Zoya, Pho, Still in Therapy, Nate08, Rounak Maiti, Sijya, and Sunflower Tape Machine made sure discovery wasn’t just a buzzword—it was the highlight of the day.

Food, fashion, and everything in between

Somewhere between sets, we found ourselves at the Lolla Food Park, which honestly deserved its own headline slot. Over 70 food brands turned meal breaks into moments—Bademiya’s Bheja Roll, Bachelors’ Strawberries and Cream, Bang Bang Noodles’ Lolla Lava Noodles, and the cult-favourite Pushpa Pizza by Bad Boy Pizza were less ‘quick bites’ and more ritual stops.

The grounds themselves felt like a design playground. The towering Lollapalooza Inflatable, Perry Farrell’s iconic Shaman, the kinetic Lolla Garden, and Lolla Buddies photo stops made wandering as rewarding as watching. The Alternative Stage emerged as a creative landmark, while the merch zone stayed buzzing—aliens, freaks and dreamers stitched into tees, hoodies, jerseys and bucket hats that fans wore like badges of honour.

Day 2: A city sings back

If Day 1 was about momentum, Day 2 was about legacy. As night fell, Linkin Park took the stage for their much-awaited Mumbai performance, and something seismic happened. ‘Numb’, ‘In The End’, ‘Crawling’, ‘Faint’—each song came back to the band as tens of thousands of voices sang every word. From VIP, we watched strangers hold each other, scream lyrics, wipe tears. Mike Shinoda’s gratitude, thanking fans for waiting, for believing—landed heavy. This wasn’t just a headliner set. It was a collective memory being made.

Kehlani brought effortless soul, LANY softened the air with ‘Malibu Nights’, Sammy Virji turned the grounds into a relentless dance floor, and Calum Scott gave us cathartic sing-alongs. Nubiyan Twist and BUNT. added groove and texture, keeping the night fluid.

Indian artists once again held their own. Bloodywood’s ‘Danadan’ and ‘Halla Bol’ triggered one of the loudest responses of the weekend, Karsh Kale stitched tradition with electronica, and OAFF x Savera drew a sea of bodies for ‘Doobey’. Even in the final hours, the homegrown story stayed front and centre.

From the VIP decks to the densest crowds, ELLE India witnessed the festival in its fullest form. And Mumbai? Mumbai sang back.

Here's a throwback to last year's Lollapalooza:

Beats, Bangers & Big Moments: Lollapalooza India 2025 Had It All

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