Lollapalooza 2026: How SB19 Made History
From a Grammy Museum Q&A to a Grant Park stage shared with Benny the Bull, SB19's Lollapalooza run was a big week for the group and for P-pop.
Published on Aug 4, 2026
SB19 added another line to their record book, becoming the first Filipino act to ever perform at Lollapalooza.
Their slot on the bill was announced months ago. In the lead-up to the show, the group made the rounds at several venues across the U.S., including a stop at the Grammy Museum for a Q&A and mini-performance.
On July 30, Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin took the stage in Grant Park for their Lollapalooza set. While the afternoon crowd in Chicago packed in, A'Tin back home held a madaling-araw watch party at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium, tuning in to a 4:30 a.m. livestream.
SB19 opened with "DAM," sliding straight into global viral hit "Gento." The hour that followed moved through the group's catalog, including "Visa" and the perennial tearjerker "MAPA," broken up by a few words from the members between songs.
They also debuted "Lawless" live for the first time and previewed a cover of Francis M's "Mga Kababayan," set to appear on the soundtrack of the upcoming DreamWorks Filipino myth-inspired animated film Forgotten Island.
During "Dungka," Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull joined them onstage for a dance break nobody saw coming.
The set closed with "Crimzone" and an updated choreography.
Pablo
Josh
Justin
Ken
Stell
The set became one of the more talked-about stages of the festival and has been picked up by a bunch of prominent media outlets and local Chicago TV stations.
When SB19 wrapped their Wakas at Simula: The Trilogy Concert Finale this past April, they framed it as the start of a new chapter. Lollapalooza delivered on that promise.
We heard from sources that it was Live Nation PH that pushed to have SB19 on the lineup of this year's edition of the massive festival.
What's next remains to be seen, but the bar's been set.
Allan Carreon is a long-term BPO professional who writes on the side and who loves traveling. You can follow him on Instagram @axelcarlisle and on Facebook @apollocarreon77. He blogs at www.allancarreon.com