The annual Lollapalooza concert in Grant Park brings Chicago not only the gift of music, but also $1 million a year to spruce up city parks.
The catch? Some neighbors say they can hear the pulsating beat in their living rooms.
Several of those people showed up for a public hearing Monday night at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave., to voice their concerns about the concert, which is scheduled for Aug. 3-5 and expected to attract nearly 200,000 people over its three days. Pearl Jam, Daft Punk and Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals are some of the dozens of acts scheduled to perform at the event.
In response to residents’ complaints, Lollapalooza organizers plan to turn five of the nine performance stages toward Lake Michigan to reduce the noise for nearby residents. Bob O’Neill, president of the Grant Park Advisory Council, added that he would make sure the music stops at 10 p.m. after people complained they also could hear recorded music played by the clean up crews.
“I can leave town, and I probably will this year. But what about the people who can’t?” said Maddy Gollogly, a 15-year resident of Harbor Point, near Randolph Street and the lake. She said she could hear other concerts at Grant Park throughout the years, but Lollapalooza has been the loudest.
“I can tolerate the concert if they tone it down a bit,” Gollogly said.
The stage changes weren’t enough for Richard Ward, president of the New Eastside Association of Residents, who said he’s frustrated because it appears to him that local and state agencies will not enforce noise ordinances.
“It’s one thing to have three hours of music, but 39 hours?” Ward said.
Some residents said three days of loud music is a small price for the benefits that Lollapalooza money will bring to city parks.
On Monday night, O’Neill outlined three projects in Grant Park that have been paid for with approximately $1 million generated for the city by the 2005 and 2006 Lollapalooza concerts.
About 1,600 crab apple and lilac trees have been planted in Hutchinson Field, one of the concert venues for Lollapalooza this year, and 200 trees were planted around the Lincoln Statue, near Buckingham Fountain.
It’s a taste of more green to come.
In October 2006, the Chicago Park District approved a $5 million contract to host Lollapalooza in Grant Park for five years. At the time, parks officials said they would reassess the site, acoustics and noise concerns in planning for this year’s festival.
As part of the deal, at least 10 percent of the annual $1 million — coming from Texas-based Capital Sports & Entertainment, which produces Lollapalooza — will be spent in Grant Park starting this year. The rest will pay for improvements in neighborhood parks throughout the city.
Using money from Lollapalooza, the Park District also has created the Solti Gardens on the west side of Grant Park just south of the Art Institute of Chicago. The gardens feature a bust of former Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Sir Georg Solti.
O’Neill said the partnership with Lollapalooza will help restore Grant Park.
“We have beautiful parks, and they’re getting more beautiful because of this public-private partnership,” O’Neill said.
