Tate McRae dipped in 660 gallons of liquid gold

Tate McRae ended her first Lollapalooza headlining set on Aug. 2 by stepping into a tub and emerging coated in what People described as “liquid gold.” The effect, which closed her Sunday night performance in Chicago’s Grant Park, used 660 gallons of gold-colored slime, according to McRae’s creative team. The moment quickly became one of the most widely circulated images from the festival’s final night. It also landed in a weekend wrap-up that mixed pop spectacle, surprise guest appearances and the city’s usual post-festival public-safety tally. ### How did the gold finale actually work? People reported on Aug. 5 that the finale involved 660 gallons of gold-colored slime prepared for the end of McRae’s set. The publication said the effect was designed as the closing visual for her debut turn as a Lollapalooza headliner. Tate McRae performed on the T-Mobile stage on the festival’s closing night, and the gold-drench sequence came at the end of the set, according to coverage from People and the Chicago Sun-Times. (people.com) Images and video from the performance showed McRae stepping into a basin before reappearing covered head to toe in metallic gold. ### Why was this a notable Lollapalooza booking for McRae? (people.com) Aug. 2 marked McRae’s first time headlining Lollapalooza, according to People’s report on the performance. The Sunday-night slot put her in one of the festival’s highest-profile positions at an event that drew more than 100,000 people a day to Grant Park, the Daily Northwestern reported. (people.com) Chicago’s four-day festival remains one of the country’s biggest summer music events. CBS Chicago reported before opening day that organizers expected more than 100,000 festivalgoers each day, and other local coverage described similar attendance through the weekend. ### What else stood out from the weekend’s performances? (people.com) Melissa Auf der Maur made a surprise appearance during the Smashing Pumpkins’ headline set, adding another high-profile guest moment to the weekend. Guitar World, in a report mirrored by other outlets, said Billy Corgan had invited the former Pumpkins bassist to join the band for a song at Lollapalooza. Other coverage of the set said Olivia Rodrigo and Yungblud also appeared as guests. (cbsnews.com) The Smashing Pumpkins played Lollapalooza on Friday, July 31, in one of the festival’s most discussed legacy-rock sets. Coverage from NME said the band’s guest lineup included Auf der Maur, Rodrigo and Yungblud, tying a 1990s alternative-rock reunion to newer pop and rock acts on the same stage. (yahoo.com) ### What did officials report after the festival ended? Chicago officials said Lollapalooza ended with 10 arrests and 67 hospital transports over four days. EDM.com reported that those arrested included a drone operator and a person involved in a backstage fight, while Fox 32 Chicago and the Chicago Tribune separately cited the city’s totals. The arrest count was lower than last year’s, according to EDM.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. (nme.com) Fox 32 reported there were no ordinance violations or citations during the festival. ### What comes next after the gold-soaked finale? People’s Aug. 5 report turned the mechanics of McRae’s finale into a post-festival reveal, extending attention on a set that closed Lollapalooza’s 2026 run. (edm.com) Chicago’s cleanup and official recap were already underway this week, with local outlets publishing city arrest and hospital totals after the festival ended on Aug. 2. Melissa Auf der Maur’s appearance has also continued to generate follow-up coverage after the festival, with music outlets revisiting the Smashing Pumpkins reunion moment in stories published on Aug. 5 and Aug. 6. McRae’s finale and the Pumpkins’ guest-filled set now stand as two of the most documented performance moments from Lollapalooza’s Chicago weekend. (yahoo.com) (people.com)