How’s this to make up for a weather delay? After expanding to Chile in 2011 and having the inaugural Brazilian edition this year, Lollapalooza has announced it will hold a festival in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 20th-22nd, 2013. In conjunction with Israel’s NMC United music distributor/publisher and production/promotion company Plug Productions Generator, Lollapalooza Israel promises 50 artists performing over three days in Tel Aviv’s prominent Yarkon Park.
In a statement, Marc Geiger of WME Entertainment, a Lollapalooza, LLC partner, called Israel “an incredibly sophisticated music market. Consumers have a voracious appetite for entertainment, yet there has never been a major music festival. To me, this combination screams Lollapalooza.” To accommodate Orthodox Jews who abstain from using technology or listening to music on Fridays, the Jewish Sabbath, the festival will be held from Tuesday to Thursday.
Festival founder and Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell expressed gratification that Lolla, which began as “music’s premier traveling festival”, is expanding its reach. In an interview with CNN, he intimated that Tel Aviv may not be the only Israeli city to play host to a Lollapalooza festival. “We got a call from Jerusalem, the Holy City, and they want Lollapalooza to be there, too,” he said. “But it’s going to start in Tel Aviv, and we’re going to do something in Jerusalem. The mayor’s like, ‘We want to bring young people, we want to change the perception of Jerusalem.’ So we’re even talking with them about it.”
Farrell also implied that Lollapalooza would continue to set up shop across the globe. Though he wouldn’t give up the next possible location, he urged to “make no mistake. I want to have a beautiful portfolio of Lollapaloozas to give to my children.”
The announcement means four Lollapalooza festivals will be held in 2013: March 29th-31st in Brazil, April 6th-7th in Chile, August 2nd-4th in Chicago, and now August 20th-22nd in Israel. Below, watch Perry Farrell discuss Lollapalooza’s expansion to Israel.
