The First Post-COVID Festival in Chicago Has Been Announced – Learn More About the Inaugural ARC Fest

This Labor Day weekend, Auris Presents (a newly formed event productions company) and Loud Crowd will produce the inaugural ARC Fest, described as a “immersive dance music event” set to take place in Chicago’s Union Park. The two-day festival is the first announced in the current/post COVID era (Pitchfork Festival’s return has been heavily rumored, and Riot Fest was pushed a year after its initial delay in 2020, still planned for September 17-19).

There has been no news around the possible return of Lollapalooza, (besides festival creator Perry Ferrell posting this semi-cryptic photo on Instagram), though it does seem to have the potential to do so according to many fans. With lots of inevitable health precautions being the center of conversation for festivals that announce their return this summer into fall, it’s clear that ARC Fest will have a lot to prove during its first year in Chicago.

So what makes this dance festival different to those similar that also take place in Chicago (Spring Awakening, North Coast)? Well, ARC Fest is being marketed as one that features “curated production elements, art to guide them between each of the three immersive stage environments, as well as a showcase of Chicago’s culinary prowess.”

ARC Fest’s lineup is one that reflects the city’s rich history in the birth of dance music, quoted as a “distinctly Chicago experience, representing the home of house music which has ironically yet to be represented on the global festival circuit.” Artists like Eric Prydz will be “taking over the city” with three of his projects performed, making ARC the first event to ever host all three of his alias’ in one weekend. ARC fans will also be treated to intimate after parties across Auris and ARC partner venues RADIUS and PRYSM, with others to be announced. Check out the rest of the lineup below:

Adam Beyer ◻︎ Cirez D
Bob Moses (Club Set) 
Camelphat
Cristoph
Deborah de Luca
Derrick Carter
DJ Heather
DJ Pierre 
Eric Prydz
FISHER
Gene Farris
Hiroko Yamamura 
Hot Since 82
Idriss D
Luciano
Luttrell
Mason Maynard
Mathame
Meduza
Nicole Moudaber
Patrick Topping
Seth Troxler
Steve Gerard
The Martinez Brother
Will Clarke
ZHU
…and more to be announced

Seeing an “immersive festival” being played out during the (hopefully) tail end of a a worldwide pandemic will be interesting to see, considering the fact that many festivals that are currently being promoted have made it clear that they will be enforcing safety measures that otherwise would be unprecedented for festival season, along with limiting capacity and spreading out the acts throughout several days. Coachella was rescheduled from April 2020 to October 2021, but recently was postponed again to return back in its original month of April 2022. A festival taking place in Florida this May (yes, you read that correctly) will require attendees to show prove of vaccination or a negative COVID test. It’s clear that a festival taking place in September compared to one in May likely has a better chance of going off without a hitch, but during COVID times, nothing is guaranteed.

Attendees can sign-up for the exclusive pre-sale immediately at ARCmusicfestival.com. General tickets will be on-sale April 15th with payment plans and travel packages coming soon.