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 Yahoo News reports that Moms push strollers through throngs of bare-chested, tattooed
twenty-somethings. Dads in khakis dole out fruit drinks while guys
sporting mohawks and ripped jeans sip beer. And the grade-schoolers
cheer as loudly as the hard-core metalheads.
Welcome to the new face of music festivals, where everyone from kids in diapers to retirees come for the same reason: to rock out.
"I was too young for Woodstock. I didn't really start going to concerts until my youngest son was old enough," said Dory Schramm of Alamo, Calif., who attended this year's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago with her husband and their 19- and 16-year-old sons, along with other family members, including 8- and 10-year-old nieces.
When it began 17 years ago, Lollapalooza was a traveling alternative music festival that drew a decidedly young crowd to hear hard rock, punk and hip-hop bands. It has evolved into a three-day destination that features similar music and still draws young adults, but increasingly caters to all ages.
And that's just fine with Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell, former lead singer of the now-defunct 1990s alternative rock band Jane's Addiction.
"I am almost 50 years old, and I certainly don't want to be condemned. I don't want to be looked upon as some kind of used-up dude," said Farrell, a father of three. "We created this scene, we deserve to be there, we belong there."
Farrell says the festival is evolving naturally — many of those who attended the original shows keep coming back, often with their young children in tow or tagging along with their older kids.
Read the full story here.
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