Cheers to ten years of Coasties bringing the heat for Summer’s Last Stand, and this year North Coast Music Festival was moved from its usual home of Union Park to the legendary and scenic, Huntington Pavilion at Northerly Island. The fest had to end the summer with a bang and celebrate their decade of jams with the new venue, and a celebration was an understatement. Over Labor Day weekend, the likes of Bassnectar, Major Lazer, Jai Wolf, Tchami, Big Wild, Snakehips, Yung Bae, Melvy, SG Lewis, Flux Pavilion, Trampa, and more took on the stages of the island venue withstanding the mega bass, rain (shocker), and swarms of fest goers.
By now, I don’t think it’s a secret about my love for North Coast. From the intimate setting, the diverse music genres, immersive activities and seriously stellar art – this fest never comes up short. First and foremost, the music. North Coast put on a damn show with the Pavilion stage, the Hanger, and the hella cool, mobile stage, The Good Bus. Headlining on Friday was the 808 king himself, Bassnectar. As many times I have seen the head banging DJ, this I think was the most insane. I don’t know if it was my close proximity to the stage or his fire (quite literally…the pyrotechnics were unreal), but this set had every bone in my body shaking from the bass, and I was not mad about it. Jai Wolf, another fav, graced the stage prior with their mellow dance jams. Saturday, we were faced with a little rain, but at this point, it’s expected for Chicago and its unpredictable weather. I made my way to see some of my favorite Chicago guys play The Good Bus, Goodsex and Arvi Mala x Alex Kislov. Afterwards, some of my other favorites Tchami, Gorgon City and Ookay brought only good vibes before the absolute banger of a set put on by Major Lazer took on The Pavilion. The EDM trio blasted mixes of hits, soca, house, reggae, and moombahton over the speakers engaging the crowd like no other.
Going to fests always is such a well-rounded out weekend for me. Of course I go for the music and artists, but there are the other type of artists that I also always show love to. My favorite geometric art company, SynerGeo, headed by John Campbell – who is a artist genius—brought the vibes with ‘Geo-Drip,’ ‘Gobstopper,’ and the LED Bamsphere with live show from the Bam Creates team…wooo it was fire, fam.
North Coast feels like home to me and is always my favorite way to round out summer. The energy is always high and the vibes are always laced with love. After ten years this fest is here to stay, but looks like it has found a new home at Northerly Island. See you next year on the island, Coasties!
