Journey Will Headline Lollapalooza

Journey and its updated lineup will be headlining the 2021 edition of Chicago’s annual Lollapalooza festival says Neal Schon, even if there has been no news of the event’s plans for 2021 due to COVID-19.

In a conversation with Eddie Trunk, he says he is excited to be back and performing again, sharing that “our first date booked for Lollapalooza, and we’re headlining in Chicago. And that’s supposedly in April. Hopefully that’ll not get pushed back, because [the] vaccine is finally here. And hopefully they start dispersing it very quickly so everybody can get back on their feet and can get out and hear music, ’cause that’s what heals the world, I think.”

Trunk mentioned how it was odd that Journey was headlining a largely alternative, hip-hop, and electronic music event. Schon responded with: “I have not seen the bill. All I know is that we’re headlining it. I can guarantee you that with the new blood in the band, when we get together for two weeks of rehearsal before that show, we will be the new alternative. We’re gonna add a lot to the show. We’re gonna bring some new dynamics and open things up a bit and show people what the musicianship is really like in this band.”

Journey’s most recent concert was on January 31, 2019, in Las Vegas, which turned out to be the last series of shows to feature drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory, who were both fired in March 2020 due to reasons Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain described as an “ill-conceived corporate coup d’état” in an attempt to take control of the band’s name. They were replaced by Randy Jackson on bass and drummer Narada Michael Walden, along with the addition of keyboardist/vocalist Jason Derlatka,