Rick Rubin once tried to buy Lollapalooza, according to Perry Farrell
The world of live music festivals is becoming increasingly saturated with more events spring up around the globe. Nevertheless, there are still some events that command a respect not afforded to most. Over in North America, few names are as synonymous with the world of live music as Lollapalooza Festival. However, it has something of a tumultuous history.
First devised by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell back in 1991, Lollapalooza was initially a touring festival, visiting multiple cities across North America and boasting line-ups featuring the best in alternative rock, metal and hip-hop. For the uninitiated, the history of Lollapalooza has now been documented by the series Lolla: The Story Of Lollapalooza, available on Paramount+.
The three-part documentary has unveiled some interesting accounts of the festival’s history. For instance, Farrell makes the claim that legendary producer Rick Rubin once attempted to buy the rights to the Lollapalooza name. The offer reportedly came after the disastrous 2004 event which nearly saw the death of the festival as a whole.
Initially, Lollapalooza ran from 1991 until 1997, but was revived in 2003. However, interest waned in the festival around this time and poor ticket sales caused the 2004 tour to be cancelled. “We made some bad mistakes trying to revive something that shouldn’t have been revived,” co-founder Mark Geiger reveals in the documentary, “It fell on its face”.
Reflecting on this difficult period in the festival’s history, Farrell says, “I didn’t know what I was going to do, and I was very embarrassed,” adding, “I was hurting for money”. Enter Rick Rubin. After the cancellation of the festival in 2004, the producer reportedly made an offer for the brand name. “I don’t know why,” Farrell explains, “but Rick Rubin decided to make an offer to me to buy the name for like a million dollars. I won’t tell you exactly how I put it, but I said no”.
As Farrell stated, the reasons behind Rubin’s strange offer remain unknown. In theory, the man who co-founded Def Jam and has worked with the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys and The Strokes would be more than capable of putting on a pretty amazing music festival.
After rejecting Rubin’s offer, Lollapalooza was relaunched in 2005, finding a permanent home in Chicago and ending its time as a touring festival. The event is still going strong to this day, with 2024’s festival featuring headliners like Blink-182, The Killers, and Tyler, The Creator.
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