It’s been awhile since a festival has seen this much speculation about its line-up.  Lollapalooza’s line-up was “leaked” twice before the actual announcement come down the pipe from Lollapalooza.  The first was a Twitter hoax and the second came just a few days ago with a nice visual of the full line-up for 2012.  As the second leak appeared online the chatter spun into high gear.  The talk of the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in Chicago and Milwaukee so close to Lollapalooza was brought up in defense of how “off” the leak had to be.  Also no one could believe that Black Sabbath would play a show without Bill Ward, and possibly, Tony Iommi due to his cancer.  Yet some people forget that Black Sabbath is probably getting paid a pretty penny to be a headliner and I am going to gander that Black Sabbath didn’t reunite because they thought of some killer new material to perform.  It all comes down to money and if Bill Ward won’t play they will find someone else to, and if Tony can’t make it, the same will happen.

Aside from the conversation above, people aren’t exactly salivating at the mouth about the line-up, as it was very apparent on Lolla’s Facebook page when the leaks began and started to be confirmed.  The thing is The Black Keys just played Chicago and hit Milwaukee May 16^th, Florence + The Machine is set to play Milwaukee at the end of April, and as previously stated, The Red Hot Chili Peppers is playing dates in Chicago close to Lolla.  That being said, there isn’t much of a draw for the Midwest as most of the headliners have or will hit the area relatively close to Lolla time.  It would be nice if Lolla announced a really large act that would be more of a draw, and the one thing missing from the line-up is the hip hop/rap act.  It was starting to be a staple of the fest for a couple years running, but it looks like Coachella took that thunder this year.  Heck even Summer Camp snagged Common.

So why go? There are so many talent acts performing that it’s not even funny.  Here’s our list of the 12 non-headlining acts that are sure to grab attention at Lollapalooza.

Dev – Pop/Dance

She likes her bass down low…really: http://thedeadhub.com/2011/03/03/spotlight-dev-talks-sxsw-working-with-the-cataracs-and-fashion/

Her debut album, The Night the Sun Came Up, is currently available for download.

http://keek.com/devishot
http://twitter.com/devishot
http://devishot.com

Metric -Pop/Rock

We’ve covered them through the years and still can’t get enough!

SYNTHETICA, their follow-up to Fantasies, is set to be released on June 12, 2012 right in time for fans to memorize the album and sing along at Lollapalooza.

Gold Guns Girls

Expecting To Fly

http://www.ilovemetric.com
http://www.twitter.com/metric
http://www.myspace.com/metric
http://www.youtube.com/metricmusic
http://soundcloud.com/metric-band

Santigold – Pop/Dance

Another artist to be stoked about is Santigold. She’s been around since 2008 and is about to drop her newest album Master of My Make Believe May 1^st.

http://www.santigold.com/
http://twitter.com/santigold
http://www.myspace.com/santigold

fun. -Pop

It’s all in their name. http://thedeadhub.com/2010/04/10/fun-wins-most-appropriate-band-name-of-the-year/ The band is also having a great year with their newest single “We Are Young” sitting at the #1 spot of Billboard.

We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe

http://www.ournameisfun.com
http://www.store.ournameisfun.com
http://www.myspace.com/fun
http://www.twitter.com/ournameisfun
http://www.bebo.com/ournameisfun

Dawes – Soul/Americana

Their newest album, Nothing is Wrong, was released back on June 7, 2011 and they’ve been touring since.
When the weather decides to turn up the heat at Lollapalooza, take to the Dawes set to sit back, relax, and enjoy.

If I Wanted Someone

http://www.dawestheband.com

Die Antwoord – Rap

Die Antwoord is an acquired taste with their imagery, but their set will be something to behold!  Their sophomore release, Tension, dropped back in February.

I Fink U Freeky

http://WWW.DIEANTWOORD.COM
https://twitter.com/DieAntwoord
http://www.myspace.com/dieantwoord

Bloc Party – Pop/Rock

They are back from their hiatus and hitting the road which includes Lollapalooza. For a great dance party:  http://thedeadhub.com/2009/04/08/bloc-party-thankful-to-be-in-chicago/

One More Chance

http://www.blocparty.com

Passion Pit –Indie/Electro-Pop

These guys have been around for years (as long as we have) and rightfully earned all the praise they’ve received.  Anticipate a huge crowd when they hit the stage this summer in Chicago as this their catchy electro-pop sound will keep the crowd on their feet.  The band is still riding high on their 2010 release of Manners.

Sleepyhead

http://www.passionpitmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/passionpitjams
http://www.twitter.com/passionpit
http://www.backstreet-merch.com/bands/paspt

Band of Skulls -Indie Rock

Watch this band hit it really big after Lollapalooza! The band’s newest release Sweet Sour was released back on Valentine’s Day.

Sweet Sour

http://www.bandofskulls.com
http://youtube.com/BandofSkulls
http://twitter.com/BandofSkulls
http://www.myspace.com/bandofskulls
http://soundcloud.com/bandofskulls
http://www.last.fm/music/Band+Of+Skulls

Yellow Ostrich – Indie Rock

Indie Rock newcomers, Yellow Ostrich, spent 2011 touring and making their mark on the US with their newest release, Strange Land.  This year catch their infectious harmonies at Lolla.

Whale

http://www.yellowostrich.com

Sharon Van Etten – Indie Folk/Rock

This lady is a busy woman! She’ll be spending the majority of 2012 on tour with some support from The War on Drugs. Her indie rock vibe is a must-see at Lolla especially if you didn’t get in to her slew of sold-out performances.

http://www.sharonvanetten.com
http://sharonvanetten.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/sharonvanetten

Laura Warshauer (pronounced War-Shower) – Pop/Singer/Songwriter

Jay-Z saw her perform at a Grammy after party and told her that “You are fantastically talented.” Enough said.

Tonight Tonight

Explode

http://www.laurawmusic.com