After much speculation and anticipation, the lineup for Lollapalooza 2012, which will be held at Grant Park in Chicago, IL., from Aug. 3-5, from morning until night, has been announced, and is eclectic enough to please even the most particular of music aficionados. It’s been a hectic year for the music business as various bands and re- cording artists seem to be emerging from their long-term slumbers and hiatuses or just prepping for a long-awaited reunion.

For the larger-than-life headlining acts, the funkadelic Red Hot Chili Peppers return (possibly tube socks and all), as well as heavy met- al icon Black Sabbath and former White Stripes guitarist-gone-solo bluesman, Jack White. Akron, Ohio natives The Black Keys will also be there. The whimsical Florence + The Machine and the vicious At The Drive-in will plant themselves in Chicago’s minds and hearts as they conclude each night of the festival on their designated stages. As for Perry’s stage, it will be dedicated to the more dance/electronic-style slice of the gigantic musical pie, with performances from Bassnectar and Avicii.

As if these billed headliners weren’t enough to close the 3-day festival and send everyone home in that “Did I just see Flea/Ozzy?” trance, the sub-headliners are just as exceptional, if not better, than their higher-ups. James Mercer is scheduled to serenade us all with some “new slang” with The Shins and sirens will be blaring with Bloc Party. Passion Pit, Justice and M83 will send the masses floating through the park’s air space, dancing weightlessly while J. Cole, Frank Ocean and Childish Gambino will keep others grounded with their rhymes and beats.

This is only to name a few of the acts- a few of more than 100 performances. The music festival has a preceding reputation of housing some of the most mesmerizing acts to date, and depending on the year, the timing (and your taste), the schedule will not always be in your favor when it comes to deciding who you want to see more, but you’ll never be left unsatisfied. Like any highly anticipated music festival, the lineup is always released before a schedule of performances. Weekend passes for all three days are still available for $230. However, as one might imagine, the souvenir tickets that were on sale and sold out within minutes went for $75 for the weekend just as the early bird tickets sold out for $200 a pop.

For more information on Lollapalooza, visit www.lollapalooza. com.