My favorite saying this whole summer has been “House Comes Home”. Indeed house music did return to it’s home in Chicago, IL for ARC Music Festival. A lineup that featured some of the original legends of the genre as well as it’s best newcomers. This made for once again, an incredible three nights in Union Park. In this article I would like to revisit the festival by discussing the artist selection, the overall festival production, and the community. Of course, we will cap things off by ranking our favorite sets from the festival and from ARC After Dark (the after parties), and a few things we would like to see looking ahead.
House Music Truly Comes Home.
This years ARC festival featured a strong return to it’s roots of house and tech house music. Featuring acts such as Pawsa b2b Dennis Cruz, Honey Dijon, Honeyluv b2b Dennis Ferrer, Gene Farris b2b Marshall Jefferson, and many more that are key to both genres. This was capped off at the top by two very special sets, Disclosure closing out The Grid and Carl Cox b2b Green Velvet closing Expansions. ARC continues to build its reputation as a premier house and techno festival, bringing both international stars and Chicago’s homegrown talent. The techno was well represented across the spectrum this year as well by Charlotte de Witte, Sven Vath, Reinier Zonneveld, Klangkuenstler, and Nico Moreno. One of the coolest things about ARC is that at just about any given time, you can walk to any of the four stages and hear some really good music. It’s one of those festivals where it does feel like the artists push themselves even further to provide stellar performances.
If there is one thing we do have to discuss about the music though, is the lack of many melodic and progressive house options. It is totally understandable that only so many artists can be booked, along with the logistics of scheduling and everything. But one thing I heard from numerous attendees was their disappointment at the lack of much representation of these genres. It does not have to always be Eric Prydz leading the helm (although, would anybody really be upset if he was a resident?). There are plenty of names in this realm of the genre that who would do a great job leading the charge. Eelke Kleijn, Nora En Pure, Yotto, Joris Voorn, and ARTBAT to name a few. For a festival that has included it in the previous three years, it felt a little odd walking around and only hearing a miniscule amount each day. That did not prevent us at all from having a good time however. The lineup ARC went with this year is still one of the best we have seen for a festival of this size.
Once again, Elrow ends up being our favorite stage.
There’s no place like home, otherwise known as the Elrow tent. Each stage had it’s highlights, but each time we walked into Elrow this year it was the best decision made. There’s something special about taking a party that is globally renowned for being one of the world’s largest parties and squeezing it into a hot tent filled with festival goers. Each stage had highlights as well that are worth mentioning. Area 909 felt like a true underground rave, especially after sunset when the darker and faster paced artists arrived. The way the new screens against the bunkers were lit up made everybody appear as silhouettes as they were dancing the night away. It was one of the coolest things to see.
Expansions brought the vibe that it usually does with being engulfed by trees and greenery. The stage was opened up a bit more as well which was nice to see, but something still was not fully there in terms of a solution for last year’s problem. Expansions features some of the best acts in the scene, meaning it is going to always have a big crowd. This makes things a bit rough for fans in the GA and VIP sections as they are very condensed during peak time sets, like Hot Since 82 b2b Chris Stussy. There were still plenty of pockets for listening to the performances, and the new bar addition is nice. But for those who enjoy seeing the performance as well your best bet was to camp there all day for the artists you wanted to see.
The Grid is one of the coolest “main stages” around. There is always plenty of room to dance, meet up with friends, or catch those mid festival breathers that one needs. This is one of the walk-ins that we look anticipate doing each year we return to ARC. Nothing beats coming into a sunny Union Park and seeing those giant screens along with that booming sound system. As far as our experience with “vibes” go, The Grid had them all. It helps that some of the best performances of the weekend took place on The Grid as well. Not many things are going to surpass Honey Dijon during the sunset or Charlotte de Witte bringing us the early stages of the night.
Let’s talk about the ARC community.
One of our favorite things about ARC music festival is the community within it. A lot of times at larger festivals it’s easy to see a lot of folks who can’t handle themselves, are acting out of control, or even some physical altercations. This is my third year attending and I have not dealt with nor seen any one of these. It seems as if ARC has struck the right chord and brings in a crowd that is mature but still loves a good party. It is easy to tell that for the most part, these are the people who have been at it for some time.
It is also nice to attend a festival and not have it feel as if it’s a fashion show first and music festival second. The people of ARC are of course still well dressed and groups do have coordinated outfits from time to time, but it does not feel forced. Another thing about this community is that they are so welcoming and open minded. There are never any issues with befriending strangers and asking them for guidance or just if you want to chat and make a new friend (but keep it off the dance floor).
Favorite Performances and our “MVP Award”.
The moment we all have been waiting for. Let’s relive some of those sets that were life changing, and give out an “award” to our weekend’s MVP. Before we dive in, it is important to note just how difficult it was to choose my favorites, let alone rank them. Another important note is that we will be taking into account both festival performances and after party performances, since ARC After Dark is such a strong extension of the festival. Final note, this is meant to be good fun and is completely subjective to everyone’s experiences. Without further ado, here are our results!
- Tini Gessler at Cermak Hall – This set was everything. We came into the weekend with high expectations for Tini Gessler as she is known for throwing a great party, and this set delivered. Her other two performances in Elrow were splendid as well, but this one gave her the opportunity to go a bit darker since it was deep in the night at 3AM and in the iconic Cermak Hall. This set was where all the progressive and melodic techno people were looking for landed. The amount of hits from these genres she dropped was mind blowing. There was no time for breaks in this set outside of the buildups that came in the tracks. Unreal work from the legend Tini.
- Mau P at The Grid – Once again, Mau P understands the assignment. We weren’t sure exactly where this set would go, but boy it landed in the perfect spot. This set featured a good majority of his hits that included “Drugs From Amsterdam” (which he kept teasing), and the epic version of “On Again“. Squeezed in the middle was some of the most refreshing selections in house and tech house. There was no better vibe to be had at The Grid on Saturday than this set. It was one of those performances that brought the crowd together for the hour and a half he was on. This is the set where we came home with ten new friends to keep forever.
- Charlotte de Witte at Cermak Hall – Our Friday closer chose to turn things up even higher at her after party in Cermak. The festival set was the perfect warm-up for the hour and a half of hypnotizing techno and trance at the after party. The selections featured a lot of unique chant vocals as well, which we love. The best and most surprising choice of this set for us though was “Satori“. One of the coolest songs in her catalog so it is always exciting to hear. The way she mixes as well is absolutely thrilling to experience live. She glided from track to track. This seamless transitioning made thirty minutes feel as if it were one track the entire time. This is the set that we never wanted to end. Had it been given another thirty minutes to an hour, this probably would have been number one for the weekend.
- Honey Dijon at The Grid (sunset) – The perfect time slot for the perfect artist. After experiencing what Peggy Gou did last year during this slot, we were wondering for some time. Who would step up and fulfill that this year? Honey Dijon not only did that, in our opinion, she surpassed it. This is what Chicago House Music is all about. As the sun started to set, it gave off a bit of a purple glow. Honey Dijon changed up the vibe to match. My goodness, she did her thing. There was a moment where we looked around the entire crowd as we wanted to gauge everybody’s vibe. There was nothing but smiles to be seen. It was hard to move to another set after this one, as the festival could have ended right here.
- Gene Farris b2b Marshall Jefferson – This was an awesome set to walk into. It felt as if we all were a part of a celebration of house music history. We all came together under one roof. There was no better place for this to happen than inside the Elrow tent. One of the coolest things to note from this set was just how many house legends were watching on stage during the performance. There was a moment as well where Honey Dijon stepped up in between the two to dance and gave them both hugs before leaving. Musically, this was flawless. One of the most difficult things about Elrow, is knowing what song you are going to get to for that epic confetti pop. Gene went with Mark Knight’s version of “Lady (Hear Me Tonight)” and wow did the crowd love this one. This was one of the best parties of the entire weekend.
- Honorable Mentions – Carl Cox @ Cermak, Hot Since 82 b2b Chris Stussy, Mau P b2b Green Velvet, Klangkuenstler, and Disclosure.
Our ARC Music Festival 2024 MVP is Tini Gessler.
This was truly a tough choice between Tini and Mau P. Both did three official sets over the course weekend. Tini had to win the crowd over twice in Elrow. Elrow can be one of the more difficult places to perform and she crushed both of her sets in the tent.
These sets plus her after party set gave her a slight edge above the rest. Her selections throughout her sets left absolutely nothing to be desired as she touched just about every genre adjacent to house.
What a weekend from Tini Gessler, and we cannot wait until we get to dance with her next.
Overall, we had an incredible time at this years edition of ARC Music Festival. It is here to stay and will continue to be known as one of the best festivals in the United States. Each year the lineup has been great and we can only expect that trend to continue into the next year. The minor inconveniences are completely outweighed by how much amazing music there is all weekend long. As well as some of the best crowd vibes one can ask for.
Loyalty pass holder sale goes live soon and the next tier will be shortly after that. Keep your eyes peeled on the ARC social medias to stay ready!