Adan Diaz was walking home from classes at DePaul University this spring when he got a call asking if he was free Lollapalooza weekend.
He performed at the Chicago music festival twice on Thursday, opening the Toyota Music Den at 2 p.m. and closing the larger BMI stage at 6:50 p.m.
“I’m living,” the 20-year-old Chicago native told the Tribune two days before his Lollapalooza debut.
Diaz wrote his first song “ripped jeans” when he was 15, stuck at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s about having a crush on an older girl: “I still play video games literally every day (todo los días) / While you’re at Portillo’s on a date drinking shakes (con tu novio) / I know you’re 17, you got your life figured out (te amo).”
Today, the Mexican American singer-songwriter laughs at the lyrics. No one has their lives figured out at 17, he said. During Thursday’s 2 p.m. set, he changed the lyric to 23, an age that still feels far off for a 20-year-old whose career is quickly taking off.
Since “ripped jeans,” Diaz has released two EPs, made his stage debut at Lincoln Hall in 2021 and opened for the band Good Kid on a 19-show tour. He’s paused his undergraduate studies to pursue music more seriously.
But, he only went to Lollapalooza for the first time last year and was standing in the crowds with the rest of the festival.
“I never thought it would happen and it means the absolute world to me. I’m representing the city I grew up in and want to — hopefully — stay in forever,” he said.
Diaz stressed the importance of having local artists perform at the four-day festival that attracts some of the biggest names in music, such as Thursday night’s headliners: Hozier and Megan Thee Stallion.
“The scene is really good here but I am just such an advocate for growing the music scene more and more. I hope I inspire someone else from Chicago,” he said.
He’s already inspiring his 15-year-old brother Ivan, who plays 13 instruments and was in the Toyota Music Den crowd with their parents.
“I’ve been going to all his concerts since his first little show in Chicago, and now seeing him at Lolla with everyone here, that’s mind-blowing,” the younger Diaz said.
Personally, Adan Diaz is looking forward to watching his good friend and fellow Chicago-based artist Godly the Ruler perform on the Bacardi stage Friday.
On Thursday, however, his sights were set on making festivalgoers “feel like they can jump all they want, but also like the songs are a warm hug.”
Maddie Carbiener, 18, and Jane Andaas and Nathan May, both 19, were among the head-bopping crowd at Diaz’s afternoon set. The friends all put his performance on their festival itinerary because he was a friend of a friend, though they’d never met him.
“It’s fun that he’s from so close,” said Andaas, who grew up in Schaumburg.
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