Joe Keery isn’t the only Netflix star treating Lollapalooza fans to some music this year.
Actor and musician Dua Saleh delivered a solid early afternoon set, bringing with them a trove of moody, progressive R&B and indie electronic songs that sounded like they could lead each audience member by the hand into a dimly lit club for a strobe-lit rave.
The Sudanese-American artist may be better known for their role as Cal Bowman on Netflix’s “Sex Education,” but on Saturday, sporting a look they described as “clown core,” they took on another persona and were laser-focused on the music.
Time somewhere dimly lit, and out of the beating sun, might have been welcomed for the modest crowd gathered at The Grove, some choosing to retreat to the shade, while true Saleh fans braved the rays by the barricades.
Saleh started things off with their 2022 song “Buzzin.” The driving, fuzzed-out industrial beat pounded through the speakers as Saleh strutted on the stage, singing, “I got them buzzing like a bee, now they do meet and greet.”
“From all the way in St. Paul, Minnesota, I’m ready to have some fun today!” they told the crowd. Then they asked, with a mischievous smile: “Who here has a cute butt? This song’s just for you, baby,” prompting cheers as they went into “bo peep,” from their 2024 debut album, “I SHOULD CALL THEM.”
Saleh was aided on stage by a drummer, who occasionally used a sample pad, and another musician who juggled guitar and bass while programming backing samples.
This balance of live instruments and electronic elements didn’t always prove to be successful, as Saleh’s occasionally shaky vocals were overpowered at times by the drums, especially when Saleh would reach into their breathy falsetto, which shines on their recordings.
An early afternoon, third-day Lolla set is a unique challenge, as fans wilting in the sun may need some help waking up — or pushing past any hangovers.
Saleh seemed to take the challenge in stride, getting the crowd of more than 100 near the barricades to join them in a two-step for their cavernous club track, 2021’s “fitt” — and they did.
Though the song features Amaarae, who held her own dance party Friday at the Lakeshore Stage, the pop-Afrobeat star did not make an appearance.
Instead, a set cameo came Saturday when Saleh brought out Chicago’s own Dreamer Isioma, who performed his song “Smoking Death,” on which Saleh is featured. Dreamer arrived onstage in a burst of energy, wearing a spiked backpack and tossing pink star plushies to fans who bopped along as he rapped his verses on the alt-hip-hop song.
The song was among several on Saturday where Saleh’s live band gave their songs a harder rock edge that worked well, including their final song, “Sugar Mama,” and its predecessor, a surprising cover of Britney Spears’ seminal 2003 megahit, “Toxic.” Saleh jumped and spun on stage, while fans sang with them.
“I lost a nipple ring doing that — that’s how much I love that song!” they told the crowd.
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