Featured Photo Credit: Arc Music Festival
We are FINALLY back in action! Summer 2021 is in full swing, and we’re so happy to see concerts and festivals have officially returned. Large-scale gatherings are regularly occurring throughout the country with a strong emphasis on safety and responsibility. After a long year of navigating volatile waters during the pandemic, the music industry is thriving once again. Chicago is taking advantage of this resurgence by inviting tons of huge artists to perform in the city. When Arc Music Festival announced their lineup, house and techno fans rejoiced. But they didn’t stop there. Arc then revealed a huge series of after parties and released teasers of the stages they’re going to unveil at this brand-new festival.
ARC AFTER DARK
Only two after parties were announced initially, Blacklizt (ZHU’s techno alias) on Saturday night, and Pryda (Eric Prydz’s progressive alias) on Sunday night, both at Radius Chicago. Eli & Fur are opening for Blacklizt, and Cristoph is opening for Pryda. Tickets were originally released exclusively to festival pass holders. Purchasers were limited to buying only the same number of after party tickets as festival passes already in their account. Although certainly frustrating for some fans, it was an ingenious idea to prohibit scalping. It comes as no surprise that Pryda sold out almost immediately, and tickets for Blacklizt were sold out soon after.
ARC AFTER DARK EXTENDED
Arc just announced their full after party schedule for the weekend, and it’s a doozy. Not to mention, there are even more shows TBA. I personally thought Chicago was sleeping on its ability to bring jaw-dropping talent in house in techno, well Arc has officially turned the tide. Saturday’s new additions include Adam Beyer Presents: Drumcode with Nicole Moudaber at Concord and a Bob Moses Club Set at Spybar. And if you weren’t able to catch tickets for Pryda on Sunday, you’re in luck because Hot Since 82 is playing at Cermak Hall and Camelphat is playing at Prysm among others. Tickets are on sale to the general public (no festival pass needed), so grab them before they’re gone! Seriously though, good luck trying to pick just two shows out of this epic lineup, I know I’m struggling to.
STAGE REVEALS AND TEASERS
This festival’s outstanding lineup warrants some big-time production. There will be four stages at Arc, each offering a unique experience. Teasers for two of the four stages have been released, and they’re impressive so far. The first is “THE GRID” … A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer… (kudos if you get the Tron/Daft Punk reference, it’s all that came to mind when I saw this announcement). In all seriousness though, The Grid is an homage to Chicago’s grid system, standing tall and wide. Although we didn’t get a rendered stage design preview for this one, the “PsychROWdelic Trip” stage is presented by elrow, the European party circuit. Expect this stage to be exploding with color from confetti and foam to costumed dancers.
Festival passes are almost sold out and after party passes are going quick. Buy festival passes here. Secure your spot at Chicago’s newest festival!