Lollapalooza 2014 came and went in a flash—just like the torrential downpours that hit hard on Sunday. More than 300,000 people were in attendance over the three-day period, and despite the dodgy weather, the festival was another success. Chock-full of stellar music, food and entertainment, here are some of the weekend highlights: 

Cashless Wristbands

"Lolla Cashless" was the talk of the media last month—and for good reason. The cashless payment system whereby people pay for food, drinks and merchandise with a tap of their wristband that’s linked to their credit or debit card is a Lollapalooza first.

For one, it eliminated the need to take out cash and credit cards. As any festivalgoer will tell you, the fewer items of value to take out, the better. When you’re in a large crowd, the likelihood of dropping something under a stampede of people is pretty high (R.I.P. favorite lip balm, loose change, fresh pack of spearmint gum), especially if you’re rocking out and dancing a lot. Cards and cash may not take up much physical space (and many people have them anyway for pre- and post-concert purchases), but it sure eases the fear of losing your card or wad of cash. Especially if there’s mud and rain all around you.

Aside from money security, Lolla Cashless expedited the process of buying food, beverages and other festival items. Staying nourished and hydrated is critical at music festivals, but nobody likes wasting time waiting in long lines (even if the food is amazing). Lines will always be there—just the nature of a large festival—but tapping your wrist to a sensor is more efficient than exchanging cash or cards and therefore cuts down waiting time. You wouldn’t think paying takes up that much time, but consider the following time-suckers that definitely pile on the minutes: deciding whether to pay with cash or card, finding the right card, counting money and waiting for change, putting away change safely, swiping and signing, digging around in the black abyss of purses or shoulder bags (or worse, from inside someone’s sweaty/muddy/soaking wet bra or shoe)…I could go on. 

Not everyone signed up for Lolla Cashless, as several people still paid with cash or card, but those who did use Lolla Cashless sped up the line quite a bit. For a first run, the outcome was positive. It may take a year or two to catch on since it requires registering your wristband and linking a card to it, but the idea sure is there and the future is promising. It wouldn’t be surprising if more festivals and large-scale events adopted this system.

Rockstar Lineup

Lollapalooza would not be the amazing spectacle it is without the artists it brings in year after year. This year had fantastic artists, headliners and lesser-known bands alike. The headliners saw huge turnouts, but it was reassuring to see opening bands draw in high numbers, as well. 

The lackluster reviews from OutKast’s Coachella performance didn’t seem to deter anyone—thousands of people flocked to watch them. Eminem had a massive audience, too, and despite losing volume on his voice toward the middle of the performance, overall the show was incredible. Rihanna made a surprise appearance for “Love the Way You Lie” and “The Monster,” which definitely pleased fans. Calvin Harris and Kings of Leon put on entertaining shows, and Skrillex wowed his audience with an insane light show Sunday night.

SEE ALSO: Coachella 2014: Weekend One Recap

Even in the pouring rain and subsequent mud pits, the crowds never lost their spirit. Many artists even embraced the rain—GTA’s audience had a blast jumping around and dancing in the mud, and Matty Healy from The 1975 told fans they were experiencing them under appropriate circumstances in the rain, as the band hails from Manchester. Indeed, Lollapalooza attendees weren’t going to let a little rain wash away their fun.

The only disappointment was the scheduling of artists at the same time on opposite ends of the park—which takes about 15-20 minutes to traverse. It caused many incidents of Sophie’s Choice between shows, which was agonizing for some fans whose favorite artists were on at the same time (i.e. Arctic Monkeys and Eminem). However, this is the nature of music festivals, and if anything it’s a testament to how great of a lineup Lollapalooza put together. 

Easy Hydration

Dehydration can be a problem at large festivals, as oftentimes people don’t want to take a break from the action to drink water—especially if that means losing their spot in the crowd they’ve worked so hard to get. Not to mention the hot and humid summer weather in Chicago, and most festival crowds involve constant physical contact with at least five people around you at all times (unless you stand at the back).

To help with this, Lollapalooza had several CamelBak Filling Stations throughout the festival to promote refilling water bottles and staying hydrated. Fans could bring in an empty reusable water bottle or CamelBak to fill up. In addition, people could bring up to two factory-sealed water bottles into the festival. Lollapalooza said last year fans poured enough water using filling stations to fill 319,000 water bottles—that’s about one bottle per person in the three-day span. That’s a lot of plastic and waste saved, and more people hydrated.

Chow Town

Not surprisingly, the festival had terrific food. Chicago is a culinary mecca, and Lolla definitely capitalized on that. With the help of Chicago chef Graham Elliot, Lolla filled its “Chow Town” with 35+ great picks from all over the city. Hearty, meaty, refreshing, organic, gluten-free, raw, vegan, you name it—Lolla made sure there was something delicious and nom-worthy for everyone (no flavorless salads or dry veggie burgers). Some of last year’s favorites like Billy Goat Tavern and Lou Malnati’s returned in high demand, and Chubby Wieners and Franks N’ Dawgs also saw huge lines (Bacon Mac N’ Cheese Dog, anyone?). With hungry people and happy festivalgoers, Chow Town was a major highlight of the festival. Many of the stalls were sold out by Sunday. In the world of outdoor music festivals, Lolla definitely takes the cake (no pun intended) for its food curation.

As far as music festivals go, Lollapalooza 2014 definitely brought its A-game. One would expect nothing less from the beloved Chicago festival, but with so many music festivals around the country and world, it’s no small feat to come out on top. We can only imagine what’s in store for 2015.