The moment has taken the internet by storm, with dozens of videos posted across social media platforms, pulling in thousands of views: “Oscar From Chicago,” a fan in the crowd, getting pulled onstage during The Killers’ Lollapalooza set to drum in front of thousands of fans.
The band’s lead singer Brandon Flowers noticed a sign in the Grant Park crowd just before their hit song “For Reasons Unknown.”
The sign read, “Can I drum? It’s only natural,” which is a play on words for another popular Killers’ song.
With a bit of convincing, Flowers invited the fan on stage to drum and introduced him as “Oscar from Chicago.”
NBC Chicago caught up with the lucky fan, 20-year-old Oscar Reza Bautista, on Monday.
“I had seen people play the drums with them before, and I said, ‘I want to be one of them,'” Reza Bautista said. “Brandon starts looking at my sign and pointing at it, and everything starts shaking.”
Reza Bautista is actually not from Chicago. He is a Tijuana, Mexico, native and attends Macalester College in Minnesota where he studies computer science and cognitive science.
He also isn’t usually a drummer and considers himself a pianist. However, he practiced the drums for months at school in case his dream with the band came true.
“I have been practicing for months this song, listening to the studio album,” he said. “Never was I able to picture myself on such a stage. … I sit in the stool, step on the pedals, and I’m like, ‘OK, this is a good drum kit.'”
Reza Bautista was a hit. His drum performance had the entire crowd chanting “Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!”
“I’m just so lucky to get that kind of support from the crowd and the band,” he told NBC Chicago. “I’m very happy to be a part of a little bit of Lollapalooza and Chicago’s moments.”