Now Here This - Lollapalooza Day 1

Looking through the Lollapalooza schedule can be a daunting task. How do you handle the festival without missing out on the best sets each day? Don't worry, we have your back. Follow our daily schedule guide and we promise you will leave Grant Park satisfied at the end of each night.

PlayStation Stage - Noon
First Aid Kit
Friday starts off eclectic, with a DJ set at Perry's, some hip-hop at the Sony Stage, but our pick is an easy selection. The Swedish folk-pop sister duo is absolutely fantastic, full of sparkling country-tinged acoustic backing and haunting vocal harmonies. If you are not up for folk to start your day, we recommend the soulful genre-bending indie rock of Brooklyn's Ambassadors as a solid second option.

Google Play - 1:00
Anamanaguchi
The strange and wonderful eclectic offerings continue in the next hour, with the frenzied Brazillian pop of O Rappa and the 8-bit electropop of Anamanaguchi (who are responsible for one the theme song to the fantastic Giant Bomb podcast) going up against the pop stylings of American Idol's Haley Reinhart and the laid back breezy rock of The Growlers. As a gamer, it is too tough to pass up the blippy draw of Anamanaguchi, whose energetic tunes sound like you fell into your NES on an acid trip.

Sony Stage - 1:30
Yellow Ostrich
The bedroom rock of Yellow Ostrich matured from slickly looped indie pop gems to a full-bodied rock band on, their sophomore album, Strange Land. As much as we like the bluesy throwback soul of Michael Kiwanuka, there is something to be said for setting yourself up with a little less walking to the next set.

Red Bull Soundstage 2:15
Dr. Dog
All due respect to the grumbling psychedelic blues of The Black Angels, the dreamy mellow-cool of The War On Drugs, and excellent singer-songwriter-meets-asskicking-rocker Kevin Devine, if you miss, pop-centered jam band, Dr. Dog you should be forced to pay double for your ticket. They are on against really good bands, but this is really a must-see set.

BMI Stage - 3:20
Dry The River
As much as we like the folk-pop cool of Blind Pilot, the hard rocking bliss of UK folk rockers Dry The River is one of the weekend's absolute must-see sets. We would love to tell you to catch part of Sharon Van Etten's set first, but the layout of the festival does not make that a real possibility without cloning yourself or missing part of Dry The River's set; which you will not want to miss a second of. You will at least be able to make it to hear the back end of Blind Pilot's set at Google Play on your way to the next set.

Bud Light Stage - 4:00
Metric
The return of The Afghan Whigs across the park is a compelling draw, and the airy French electronic pop of Helena is an interesting option, but for our money we think Canadian electro-rock outfit Metric is the way to go. The Toronto band released the more synth-heavy Synthetica earlier this year, and Emily Haines' raspy vocals fit the neon backdrop of the album wonderfully. Not to worry, lead-single, "Youth Without Youth" ensures the guitars are not entirely shucked.

Sony Stage - 5:15
The Head & The Heart
You get fifteen minutes from the end of Metric's set to grab a drink and walk across the park for Seattle's The Head & The Heart. London electronic dance outfit, SBTRKT are cool, but would be better served in the dancefloor ready tent of Perry's rather than on the Google Play Stage, and the dubstep rapper mash of South Africa's Die Antwoord frankly does nothing for us. The cheery melodic folk of The Head & The Heart is an easy pick here.

Red Bull Soundstage - 6:15
The Shins
Pitting indie rock giants The Shins against indie pop wonders Passion Pit across the park is one of many cruel schedule choices. Clouding matters is the fact that UK's excellent blues-drenched rockers Band Of Skulls is also playing at Google Play. Ironically, the latest album from Thenewno2, playing at the BMI Stage, is called Thefearofmissingout, which is exactly what you are going to feel regardless of your pick in this time slot. There is no bad choice here, but after a day of hauling yourself across Grant Park, you might be best served by staying at the same end of the park as The Head & The Heart to enjoy one a set from indie rock royalty.

Google Play Stage - 7:15
Dawes
The electronic dream pop of M83 is certainly a fine choice, but we think the mellow Laurel Canyon vibe of California indie rockers Dawes is a slightly better option. The strummy bliss of, their latest album, Nothing Is Wrong (especially the adorable "Time Spent In Los Angeles" and snarky blues of "If I Wanted Someone") should play extremely well in the outdoor setting.

Bud Light Stage - 8:05
Black Sabbath
We highly recommend catching at least a portion of the reunited Black Sabbath set. Starting nearly a half-hour before The Black Keys at the opposite end of the park, you have ample time to get in a bit of the heavy metal luminaries before making your way to the killer blues duo. From our experience catching Iggy And The Stooges a few years back, you do not pass up a chance to watch, at least a portion of, a legendary band at Lollapalooza. If you are thinking about skipping out on Ozzy and crew completely, give yourself a quick listen to the iconic grunge "Iron Man" or searing drive of "Paranoid" and think again.

Red Bull Soundstage - 8:30
The Black Keys
As much as we recommend catching some of Black Sabbath, you do need to catch some of Akron's finest. The pair has worked their way up from mid-afternoon set a few years ago to well-deserved headliner. We do love Wale, especially his excellent debut album, but if you are skipping either of the night's headliners for hip-hop, you need to have your head checked.

Check back tomorrow for our guides to Saturday and Sunday's festivities.