CHICAGO — With strains of John Williams’ theme music from “Star Wars” playing over park speakers — a Lollapalooza entrance tradition — the gates opened Thursday to begin another year of the four-day music festival in Grant Park.

Every day except Sunday is currently sold out, with a daily capacity of 115,000 inside the fences and Day 1 headliners Lorde on the T-Mobile mainstage on the south end of the grounds and hometown artist John Summit on the Bud Light stage, a mile to the north.

South Loop residents Ashley Lahay and Max Wertz, both 21, arrived at the main entrance on Ida B. Wells Drive decked out in rhinestone stickers and glitter. It was their first time at Lollapalooza, and they had decided to attend all four days.

“We decided to go all out,” Lahay said.

“Go big or go home,” Wertz added.

Lahay and Wertz said they’re excited to see indie-pop singer-songwriter Audrey Hobert, Lorde and Finnish indie-pop duo Pearly Drops, who they had discovered just hours before the festival.

“We thought, ‘Let’s get here earlier and listen to some artists that are earlier,’” Wertz said.

Lorde last headlined in 2017 in a performance cut short by a thunderstorm.

Weather is a big question mark again this year, with Thursday opening sunny and in the 80s, but the National Weather Service forecasting that showers will arrive late Friday and stick around the rest of the weekend. Cue the muddy moshpits.

Singlings Makenzie and Brayden Sumner said they traveled from Kentucky to celebrate Makenzie Sumner’s birthday and graduation at the festival. The six-hour drive was “worth it,” she said.

Makenzie Sumner, 18, said she was looking forward to Asha Banks’ Thursday set on the T-Mobile stage, the English pop singer’s first music festival appearance in the United States. Brayden Sumner, 19, said he was planning to catch English heavy metal band Loathe, who he discovered last September.

“I fell in love with that band,” he said.

A first-time festival-goer, Makenzie said she was excited but worried about the large crowds.

“I love concerts, so it shouldn’t be any different,” she said.

Mother-daughter duo Tonya Burgess and Khloe Leonard perched themselves at the VIP entrance at 7 a.m. Thursday to be one of the first groups inside. They traveled from Kansas City, Missouri, to see a slew of artists, including Sombr, Olivia Dean and Zara Larsson.

Burgess’ top artist to see is Saturday headliner Olivia Dean, but her main focus is on her daughter’s experience.

“I’m more excited for her,” Burgess said, speaking of 16-year-old Leonard. “I’m doing it all for her because wherever Sombr is, we typically try to go.”

Leonard said she was ready to get to the barricades at the T-Mobile stage, but as first-time festival-goers, the crowds made them nervous.

“We’ve never been to a festival before,” Burgess said. “We were thinking, I mean, Coachella is crazy, but I feel like Lollapalooza is where to start before you get to camping outside in the desert.”

The annual Coachella in April is held on the Empire Polo Club grounds in the Indio, California desert; Lollapalooza, produced by C3 Presents, has an agreement to stay in Chicago through at least 2032.

Sierra Lindberg, 26, traveled from Atlanta to see her favorite band, 5 Seconds of Summer, and said she planned to sprint to the T-Mobile stage and stay all day. She found the lineup this year a bit nostalgic — with artists like Zara Larsson, Lorde, The Chainsmokers, and more who initially gained popularity in 2016, it’s fun to see them a decade later as they continue to gain traction.

“I remember when (Zara Larsson) blew up back then (but) she didn’t really take off, so for her to take off now and ‘Midnight Sun’ to be so popular, it’s kind of really full circle,” Lindberg said.

At 10:58 a.m., the rush inside began a bit early for a handful of attendees, with brief confusion among the main entrance security allowing a dozen or so folks through.

“Do we just let them in?” a security member asked, referring to the next people in line.

Kate Dowden, 19, stood with her friends off to the side before the opening, having traveled to Lollapalooza from the Indianapolis area.

Dowden, a repeat attendee, said Lollapalooza is “kind of a tradition,” so she knows what to expect. And as everyone started being let in, her group left the fence and merged with the front of the line.

What part of the festival is their favorite? Dowden said it’s the end of the day.

“Leaving is lowkey the best part,” she said. “We’ll just be leaving and everyone is singing; there’s drummers and food.”

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