Year in and year out, the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago is the place to be over Lollapalooza weekend. I believe this is my fourth year in attendance and probably the most fun yet. With two areas to enjoy, the first being the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis, you can partake in great products from companies such as göt2b, GUESS, Clearasil®, Motorola, SOUL by Ludacris, Biotrue™, Pentel of America, Rock the Vote, Blue Microphones, MiO Liquid Water Enhancer, China Grill, popchips™, all while enjoying drinks from UV Vodka and Asahi Beer. Downstairs you have the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE with sponsors such as KINECT for XBOX 360, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Whiskey Bar & Grill, VIBE Lifestyle Network, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), MiO Liquid Water Enhancer, UV Vodka, and Asahi Beer.
Not to mention free tattoos from Chicago’s own Code of Conduct.
Plenty of celebs and VIPs were in attendance, so hit the jump to read the full rundown and check out more pics.
Scheduled to perform before and after each other on the EXPRESS and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) stage, it was inevitable that Samantha Ronson and Taylor Momsen would run into each other in the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE at Chicago’s Hard Rock Hotel during Lollapalooza weekend. Between their performances, Taylor and Sam crossed paths in the band prep lounge. Though Taylor thought they’d been introduced at an event earlier in the year, she quickly realized that it wasn’t Samantha but her twin sister Charlotte Ronson that she met. Before heading onto the stage, Taylor asked Samantha all about her band The Undertakers and their new album, which Samantha described as being good old-fashioned “rock.” After hearing Taylor perform with her band The Pretty Reckless, Samantha paid her a rock star complement by comparing her voice to Axl Rose.
In the midst of Lollapalooza chaos, LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian snuck away from the festival for a moment of relaxation in the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis at Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The couple, who lives in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, moved to town just a week ago when Eddie was cast in NBC’s The Playboy Club. Though it was unexpected, LeAnn couldn’t be happier about the move and absolutely loves the new neighborhood, which they chose because of its convenient proximity to both shopping and the beach! As they walked into the VIP lounge, the couple headed straight to the bar for some refreshing UV Vodka cocktails to toast Lollapalooza weekend. From there, the duo checked out the new Motorola XOOM which was met with outstanding reviews; while LeAnn told her husband she was “so excited about this thing,” Eddie was a bit hesitant and asked if there was an online editorial he’d be able to access before trying to use his new tech toy. The couple then wandered to the Code of Conduct tattoo booth where LeAnn spent nearly 30 minutes sitting with an artist to design a script tattoo of the vows from her wedding four months ago that read “You gave me the courage to be truthful, I promise to give you the comfort to be trustful.”
Forgoing the traditional party and cake, Samantha Ronson chose to celebrate her birthday at the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis and EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE in Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. Having just finished recording the first album with her band The Undertakers, Samantha didn’t quite have all of the new songs memorized and kept her phone handy throughout the performance to occasionally check the lyrics. As the band wrapped up the last song in their set, Samantha was surprised with a delivery of mini cupcakes from Whiskey Bar & Grill as her band mate, Jimmy Messer, led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday.” She thanked everyone for sharing the day with her and wished a happy birthday to her twin sister Charlotte Ronson as she did her best to blow out the candles. Before realizing they were trick candles, Samantha embarrassingly tried to them out a few times. After the show, Samantha venture back in to the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE where she challenged Jimmy to a dance-off on the new KINECT for XBOX 360 and picked up gift cards for an EXPRESS shopping spree. Samantha and Jimmy then ventured upstairs to the Miami Express Yourself Oasis in search of the free tattoos from Code of Conduct, hair styling products from göt2b, pens from Pentel of America and product from Clearasil and BioTrue™.
Sporting a military chic green dress with studded detailing and a pair of her signature platform black boots, The Pretty Reckless band members told Taylor Momsen that she looked like a supermodel at the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE. Though flattered, the singer was more interested in scoping out all the other fashion statements in the room; she was overheard coveting a fan’s Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots, pointed out another guest’s leopard-print maxi skirt, and checked out the sunglasses from GUESS. Taylor’s fashion sense isn’t limited just to ladies; she’s also convinced that men know how to pick out good style as well, even if they deny it. Fueled with several cans of Red Bull, Taylor wasn’t quite ready for Lollapalooza 2011 to come to an end. Comparing the weekend to her crazy memories from SXSW this past spring, Taylor loved the way she sounded throughout her Lollapalooza performances and wanted to continue the momentum; however, she was very much looking forward to the week ahead and her six consecutive days off. Before her time off, she stopped by the göt2b salon and celebrity stylist Larry Smith transformed her blond hair into a rock star look. Lastly she did an interview at Rock the Vote and grabbed a few flavors of MiO Liquid Water Enhancer for the road, while her band members enjoyed a bite from Qdoba Mexican Grill and Asahi Beer.
In the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE, John Legend helped his girlfriend Chrissy Teigen pick out a new summer hat from EXPRESS before checking out the new games by KINECT for XBOX 360. Despite the encouragement of fans, John and Chrissy didn’t have time for a dance-off before they rushed out to prep for John’s evening concert with Sade. As they explored the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis, Christine waited patiently while John stopped at the SOUL by Ludacris listening station to try out the new line of headphones.
In true Lollapalooza form, there was no shortage of rock stars in Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis and EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE at Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. Open for three full days of parties, guests rubbed shoulders with Samantha Ronson and The Undertakers, Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless, Ellie Goulding, John Legend, Skylar Grey, Foster the People, Quest Love, and more!
Quest Love stopped by the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago Sunday afternoon where he filled out one of Pentel of America’s “Mad Libs for Charity” for the chance to send a year of Pentel of America school supplies to his high school. Truly impressed, Quest Love was overheard saying “this is the most creative thing I’ve ever seen at a gift lounge!” Let’s hope he was inspired enough to create the winning Mad Lib. He also grabbed SOUL by Ludacris headphones and Blue Microphones before heading back to the festival.
Samantha Ronson celebrated her 34th birthday with a performance at the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE Sunday afternoon with her band The Undertakers. As she introduced their new song, “Chasing the Reds,” Samantha told the crowd to listen well because they’d be hearing a lot more of the song once their album officially drops. Following her performance, Sam and her guitarist, Jimmy Messer, stopped by the Clearasil Lounge where they autographed a guitar that is going to be given away to a lucky facebook fan.
After an incredible performance at a private party the previous night, Skylar Grey stopped by the EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE and Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The creative artist was overheard telling a friend how much she enjoys being on tour for the opportunity to see new places and experience new environments to inspire her music. She stopped by the VIBE Lifestyle Network area where artists and bands were being interviewed throughout the day.
British pop superstar Ellie Goulding stopped by the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis on Saturday morning where she couldn’t believe that Motorola was actually giving away samples of their new Motorola XOOM. After seeing a preview of all the features she exclaimed, “I can’t believe you’re giving that away!” She was even more excited when she found out it works across the pond as well.
Renowned for their indie pop rock music, Foster the People stopped by the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis Saturday afternoon. The band was excited to check out the Clearasil Lounge where one band member zealously admitted, “I need all this stuff!” before grabbing a bag full of products. The boys must have been starving after jumping around on stage as they had bites from China Grill and also through popchips in their bag for the road!
With his big brother Brandon and two friends in town, Twilight stud Kellan Lutz kicked off his Lollapalooza weekend with an afternoon at the Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis and EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE in the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. Though they split up to see different bands in the festival, Kellan and his big brother enjoyed some bonding time in the lounges where his brother was overheard telling friends about his wedding this past April, in which Kellan was his best man. At the time, Kellan’s date was his now ex-girlfriend 90210’s AnnaLynne McCord; the actor seems to be enjoying the single life now, taking pictures with dozens of female fans throughout the afternoon and even picking up digits from a bubbly blonde.
More pics:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Photo Credit: Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye.com