by Marisa Ruiz (@MarisaVictoria)

Gawd, there are few things I love more than mobile apps that make my life way easier that also happen to be FREE. And when it’s specific to live music, I’m overjoyed! Just wanted to whip up this quick post so that everyone is in the know about the entirely free and entirely rad Lollapalooza 2012 mobile app (for both iPhone and Android), which is powered by Hard Rock Hotel. Here’s a quick run down of all the features:

GROUP TEXT – If you have EVER been to Lollapalooza before, you know the woes of texting headaches. Last year was the first year I took advantage of group texting to stay in communication with my Lost In Concert boys as we did press. This tool single-handedly made our weekend so much better!  This year, the gift of GroupMe-powered group text functionality has been harnessed in this app. Listen, just download the app now and thank me later!

THE LINE-UP: Sure, it’s nice to have that wad of folded paper in your pocket as a makeshift fan in the heat, but you’ll now be able to have easy access to the line-up by day on your phone. You know all those times you want to stake out a good spot in front of a stage, and wait for the artist to come on? Kill time by reading up on Lolla artists, visiting their web sites and streaming music videos.

SCHEDULE: Have your custom schedule in-hand without needing to pull out any printed pages. Make changes to your plans on the fly with a few taps on the screen.

MAP: Too much beer and you need to find that row of green port-o-potties STAT? That’s what this app’s for. Equally as handy, you can tap each stage on the map to access the day’s scheduled performances.

2012 EXPERIENCE: Let’s face it, so many of us are so in sync with social media sharing that the first thing we think about when we see something cool is posting it on Instagram. This app has gathered all the usual suspects we’ve come to love or hate and put them in once place. You can keep track of what people are buzzing about – AND you can use this tab to hear word on updates from Lolla staff that will include surprise pop-up events and other surprises. Also, if you’ve got friends that snoozed on getting tickets, there’s also a feature  that allows you to snap a pic, choose a recipient and send a Lolla-fied digital postcard to show them what they’re missing.

So you’re sitting there saying, “Marisa, I get it. Just tell me where to download the app!” Okay, okay. Download the app here.

Cheers and Happy Group Texting!

-MV