cover photo by J Skolnick Photography
Have you ever thought what it would be like to attend a show, but instead of it all being in one location, you embark on an adventure to check out a handful of venues across the city? Well then look no further than The Big Weekend in Chicago! The Big Weekend featured a great lineup of artists across the city of Chicago that include Umphrey’s McGee, Lettuce, Emancipator Ensemble, and Papadosio, to name a few. With a stacked lineup filled with a lot of jam and funk, the weekend was one to not be forgotten!
What makes The Big Weekend unique?
With 3 days of musical talent spread across 5 different venues in Chicago, it made this weekend a unique experience. The venues include the following:
Aragon Ballroom
photo by J Skolnick Photography
Artists who played here:
- Umphrey’s McGee
Concord Music Hall
photo taken from Concord Music Hall Facebook
Artists who played here:
- Lettuce (2 sets)
- Mungion
- The Motet
- The Russ Liquid Test
- SunSquabi
House of Blues
photo taken from House of Blues Chicago Facebook
Artists who played here:
- Southern Avenue
- Spafford (2 sets)
Park West
photo taken from Park West Facebook
Artists who played here:
- The Revolution
- Amy Helm
- Leftover Salmon
The Vic Theatre
photo taken by J Skolnick Photography
Artists who played here:
- Papadosio
- Emancipator Ensemble
What made The Big Weekend unique to me was attending a few shows at some of these venues. While I have been to a few of these venues before The Big Weekend, it was an absolute treat to explore some new venues that I have never been to before!
Musical Highlights
The artists that were booked for The Big Weekend were phenomenal, but I was only lucky to catch a few of the shows. My favorite set of the weekend had to be Emancipator Ensemble! Every time I get to see Emancipator, I feel like his sets get better each time. With the mixture of a variety of instruments from the band, which consisted of keys, cello, guitar, violin, and drums, the band jams so well together that it is a moment of pure bliss listening to them perform numerous songs of Emancipator’s latest album, Baralku. I was happy to hear a handful of my favorite songs performed while at the Vic Theatre on Friday night.
photo by Connor McAuliffe
Another highlight of the weekend was seeing SunSquabi and the Russ Liquid Test at the Concord Music Hall. I have never been to the Concord, but was happy to see new mural of Robin Williams outside of the venue that two artists worked together to paint. Upon arriving at the venue, it was nice to see Russ Liquid hanging outside the venue before he hit the stage for their set. It was quite an enjoyable set since the venue wasn’t packed wall to wall. If anyone thought that the Russ Liquid Test set was amazing, the SunSquabi set was a great follow up set. The highlight of their set had to be when they were playing Pablito and jammed out and extended the song!
Overall, I think the structure of The Big Weekend was something special and love how it gets you out to explore the city and hit some different venues around town. Chicago is always a city that I love visiting! I would personally love to see another festival organized like this in the future and be able to get out and see new venues that I have never seen!