After devoting several summer weekends to music festivals, street fairs, and general merriment one would think we’d be ready for fest season to close. Not so. Thankfully, North Coast Music Festival is back for its second year to give Chicagoans a final fix.
Playing this weekend in Union Park, North Coast features an eclectic electronica and hip-hop focused lineup. While still a newcomer by Chicago fest standards, North Coast’s impressive lineup includes David Guetta, Common, Fatboy Slim, Of Montreal, Bassnectar, Wiz Khalifa, Rusko, and Thievery Corporation.
Go bask in the joy of listening in the sun for hours with thousands of sweaty strangers while you can! After all, it’s “Summer’s Last Stand.”
As mentioned in my June fest recap, Chicagoans pack in their fun in the sun while they can all summer long. While there are hundreds of neighborhood street festivals, here are my picks for the best fests of July 2011.
Chicago Folk & Roots Festival: July 9-10, 2011
Organized by the Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago Folk & Roots festival features an eclectic lineup of folk, funk, global, and rootsy music from all over the world. Located in Lincoln Square’s Welles Park, the fest draws hippies, families, and music lovers of all kinds for a crowd of 30,000 over two days. This year I took in stage plummeting acrobatics by The Soul Sonic Sirkus, Congolese hip-hop/soul artist Baloji, and shimmied my way through my first salsa lesson to the energetic Caribbean beats of Cuban flutist Maraca.
Roscoe Village Burger Fest: July 9-10, 2011 Nine local vendors competed for the battle of the burger at the second annual Roscoe Village Burger Fest. Restaurants including Goose Island, Hamburger Mary’s, and last year’s winner John’s Place, served up full size burgers and sliders in variety of carnivorous flavors. Attendees texted in their votes with Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap taking top burger.
[Photo Credit]
West Fest: July 9-10, 2011
Whether grooving to the garage soul of King Khan, rocking out to Local H, or dancing the night away with Derrick Carter, West Fest’s allure lies in its musical lineup. Programmed by The Empty Bottle, the fest’s diverse live music draws a hip crowd and is a great reason for exploring west Chicago Ave.
Pitchfork Music Festival: July 15-17, 2011 90-degree days spent outdoors, sweaty strangers, and up-and-coming indie rock are an incredible combination in my opinion. If you’re not sure why Pitchfork is my preferred Chicago music festival check out my 4 favorite things and enjoy my photos from this year’s fest.
Wicker Park Fest: July 23-24, 2011
Boasting names like Blitzen Trapper, Wild Flag, Wavves, and Flosstradamus, Wicker Park Fest is another summer street event that’s known for its musical lineup. Check out Chi-town indie darlings Company of Thieves performing “Modern Waste” from their latest album.
Sheffield Garden Walk: July 23-24, 2011
Strains of Verdi lilt through the late afternoon while sunlight filters through garden leaves, casting different patterns on the mossy stone paths below. Beyond the sidewalk, through a verdant archway, I feel worlds away from the street I’ve rambled down so many times, invited to share in Lincoln Park’s personal city retreats.
Now known as the “Garden District of Chicago,” this neighborhood was not always blooming. By the mid-1950′s, much of Lincoln Park had fallen into disrepair. The Sheffield Garden Walk was first organized in 1969 to draw attention to the beauty of the neighborhood. The lovely trees and street planter boxes you see lining the lanes of this neighborhood are due to the work of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. While that first festival featured 16 local gardens, 78 local residents shared their gardens for this year’s Garden Walk.
A Garden Walk map guides you through the neighborhood, including a botanical background of each featured property. There’s a community feel to the festival and homeowners are happy to tell you about their gorgeous places and rare plants. The Sheffield Garden walk makes you feel like a neighbor no matter which ward you hail from…at least for the weekend.
Taste of Lincoln Ave: July 30-31, 2011
With a kid’s carnival, beer and food vendors, and the addition of the Lill Street Craft Fair, the Taste of Lincoln Ave. is a summer standard in Lincoln Park. The festival’s 28th edition featured five stages of live music, including blues legend Johnny Winter. Jam with Johnny to “Dust My Broom,” below.
I hope everyone in Chicago is having an incredible Lollapalooza weekend!
I will be posting Lolla follow-ups soon, but until then enjoy my review of Cold Cave’s performance at last month’s Pitchfork Music Festival, featured on Indieball.com.
The searing 90-degree weather at Pitchfork Music Festival hardly phased Cold Cave’s post-industrial, new wave sensibility. Outfitted in leather jackets and black denim, the NY-based trio delivered brooding synth beats with fists clenched in the air, inciting a goth-pop dance party…The darkly delicate “Confetti,” is an example of the balance between brooding romantic and appetizing pop aesthetic appearing on Cherish the Light Years.
Read the rest of my review and get MP3s at Indieball.com.
Just a few things that make Pitchfork my favorite music fest.
Union Park “The green line you say?” Pitchfork is just one of the fests held at Union Park, whose West Loop location is a welcome change from your usual Mag Mile or neighborhood park staples. A more under the radar location in an eclectic neighborhood, Union Park lends itself to happily to the spirit of Pitchfork. Three stages are featured at the fest, but Union Park’s manageable size allows you to see more than one act during dueling set times. If you’re feeling chillwave, lounge under clusters of trees that stand near each stage – helpful in beating the intense July heat. You may want to avoid the baseball diamonds during DJ sets, however, lest you get covered in swirling dust as hipsters kick up their heels.
Fest Dress Pitchfork’s less mainstream status typically offers indie fashion inspiration and more avant-garde ensembles, but I was admittedly underwhelmed by this year’s street style. While lacking in sartorial revelations there was still plenty to take in. Crop tops, denim, and maxi dresses were the standard along with feathered accessories and a liberal use of face paint. I spotted more than a few 90′s-style sunflower print baby doll dresses. Mid-ankle boots and colorful, strappy footwear made a statement – even Chacos were represented. The American flag speedo guy was just what everyone wanted to see cartwheeling, and props to the gentleman who braved the heat in a full skunk costume… he probably heard stripes are in.
Necessary Objects Three days of standing in the sun can make you do strange things: sport hair feathers, share mysterious herbs with strangers, or spend way too much money. Luckily, Pitchfork offered more than bratwurst and band merch to distract you while taking shade. Flatstock 30 showcased dozens of gorgeous concert posters, and it was fun finding shows we had attended amid the colorful and creative illustrations. Coterie Chicago highlighted the craftiness of local artists; and I am currently enjoying scribbling in the recycled Chicago notebook I picked up. As always, the CHIRP Record Fair offered an enticing array of all music genres for devoted vinyl-philes.
Sunday’s Sounds Sunday was scorching in terms of both mercury level and musical lineup. I started the day with Yuck and Kurt Vile, whose mellow sounds beat the heat while I sprawled in refuge under some trees. Ariel Pink’s set sounded like sun stroke and OFWGKTA were definitely spitting energy, if not brilliant rhymes. A soulful show by Deerhunter gladly brought me back to the fold after a less satisfying previous experience. Cut Copy reinvigorated a sun-addled fest and as the glare lessened later in the day, the entire crowd throbbed to their electric performance. “Let’s get crazy,” Dan Whitford commanded, and we did. Headliner TV on the Radio closed out the evening with a rousing performance that sounded nothing like listening to their albums…in a good way. They picked up the pace and intensity on old favorites, tracks from this year’s Nine Types of Light , and even a cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room.” The worst feeling in the world is coming down from a fest high at work on Monday, but I flowed right through it on the save of Sunday’s afterglow.
Honorable Mention
The $2 Arnold Palmer’s at Wishbone’s booth. A refreshing and frugal alternative to beer, and the perfect complement to a furtive flask of vodka…or two.
Pitchfork Music Festival Prep Pitchfork Music Festival is finally here! Don’t forget to pack these essentials as you head to Union Park this weekend.
1. Bring your bike to Pitchfork! Sponsored by the Chicago Reader, the Bike Lane provides 9,500 square feet of secure bike parking at the Corner of Ashland and Warren.
2. Rompers seem like great fest apparel, but bopping around in a one-piece is only fun and games until you’re four beers deep and face the prospect of undressing in a porta-potty (take it from the girl who flashed all of Comfest last month). I recommend the ever utilitarian denim short and a breezy crop top for full days of outdoor festing.
3. One of the advantages of Pitchfork is its manageable size, so you can run around Union Park in a festive wedge more easily than say, at the behemoth Lollapalooza. If you do plan on seeing every set, however, I vote for TOMS – comfortable, cute, and eco-conscious.
4. DO bring sealed bottles of water. Hydration is key if you plan on partying under the sun all weekend. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted, however this extra special set of binoculars would probably go unnoticed – just sayin’.
5. My mom swears she ruined her hearing by standing too close to concert speakers all her life, and I will likely follow suit. Keep your ears in good shape for many fest seasons to come with inexpensive ear plugs.
6. / 7. Come to Pitchfork with cash. You’ll want to avoid ATM fees while browsing CHIRP record tent, Flatstock poster show, and Coterie handmade artisan crafts and grabbing some cover from the sun.
8. Speaking of the sun, don’t risk an entire pink and peeling weekend for a few rays. Try a sun block or moisturizer with SPF to get your glow.
Headdresses and hair feathers were trending at Pitchfork 2010.
What’s your vote for this year’s fest accessory?
With Pitchfork Music Festival only days away, it’s time to update your iPod and preview some of the incredible artists who’ll be playing in Union Park.
Zola Jesus’ sonorous vocals blend darkly brooding Russian tradition with the visceral and intensely atmospheric nature of being raised in the Wisconsin woods. Sounding like something of a gothic Florence Welch, she began studying opera before turning 10, and started recording her own work in high school as Zola Jesus. By the time her second full-length album, Stridulum II, was released in 2010 the college student was already touring with artists that include Fever Ray and The xx.
Read the rest of my review and get MP3s at Indieball.com.
With Pitchfork Music Festival only weeks away, it’s time to update your iPod and preview some of the incredible artists who’ll be playing in Union Park.
Yuck’s first offering is a raw and expressive balance. Rhythmic rock-out tracks like “The Wall” feature vocals that distort and guitar solos that turn screechy as if indeed tearing through a wall, while ballads like “Suicide Policeman” offer earnest lingering melodies.
Read the rest of my review and get MP3s at Indieball.com.
