The birthplace of house welcomed back the second edition of ARC Music Festival this past Labor Day Weekend for three days, September 2-4. ARC returned to Chicago’s Union Park with a fully immersive festival experience featuring an A-list lineup, unique stages, towering art installations, and all-around immaculate vibes.
Union Park was the ultimate playground for house and techno aficionados with four stages catering to the sounds of the underground. All weekend long, ARC stages – The Grid, elrow, Expansions, and the ARC Car, hosted major performances from Chicago legends, international superstars, up-and-coming local artists, and some of the most iconic b2b sets.
The Grid
The Grid was the first stage in sight upon entering the festival gates. It was inspired by the grid system that ties the city of Chicago together and was equipped with an elevated design and A1 production including lasers, pyrotechnics, fireworks, and most importantly, performances from global legends. Day one brought out live musical duo, Kasablanca, the nature inspired sounds of Nora En Pure, Lane 8, and Boris Brejcha. Lane 8 ran into some technical difficulties during his set, but overall it was beautifully composed. He took us from day to night with his melodic originals, “Shatter” with OTR and “And We Knew It Was Our Time” with Massane. Boris Brejcha closed out the main stage and stole the show with his high-tech minimal style, including his tracks, “To The Moon And Back” and “Babamba.”
Day two showcased techno’s finest artists including Enrico Sangiuliano, Joseph Capriati, Carl Cox, and closing act, Charlotte De Witte. We started our dance marathon with Joseph Capriati and it was one of our favorite sets of the weekend. The veteran and legend, Carl Cox took over the decks next and had control of the crowd for two full hours. Cox shined with his blend of techno and disco, fueling festival goers with his acid house banger, “Speed Trials on Acid” with Fatboy Slim.
Day three had another fully stacked roster with musical acts, Azzecca, Kryptogram, Wax Motif, Vintage Culture, Gorgon City, and the grand finale, Adam Beyer b2b Cirez D. Wax Motif kicked off the party with ‘House of Wax’ and Chicago-based duo, Gorgon City kept the momentum going with a phenomenal set. The talented pair served the perfect concoction of underground house and the stunning, vocally-driven music they’re known and loved for. Finally, one of the concluding and highly-anticipated b2bs at ARC, Adam Beyer and Cirez D. Two forces took The Grid and transported us to another dimension where Drumcode meets Mouseville. The stage came to life with every track played including Cirez D’s, “Glow” and Adam Beyer’s, “Your Mind.”
elrow
Spanish party outfit, elrow, made its return to ARC for the second year in a row with a huge stage takeover. The world-celebrated brand delivered us the best of house music with a top-tier lineup and premiered a new theme, Rowmuda Triangle. The tented structure was wildly decorated with sea creatures painting the walls, costumed performers parading the stage, and an overflow of confetti showers. Day one featured sets from rising artist, Cloonee, an epic b2b from Eats Everything and Skream, and Black Book Records label head, Chris Lake. Chris Lake matched elrow’s party vibe with a dance-worthy setlist, dropping “Dubai Dublin” and “400.”
Day two at elrow was reserved for some iconic b2bs from Chicago natives, Gene Farris and Mike Dunn, as well as Get Real aka Claude VonStroke and Green Velvet. Farris and Dunn showed us their roots and reminded us why our hearts belong to house music. Get Real followed up and continued the celebration with groovy tune after groovy tune, including Green Velvet’s classic, “Brighter Days.”
The underwater madness of Rowmuda Triangle resumed on day three. The final day was an adventure with some of the biggest names in dance music including Justin Martin, Claptone, and Fatboy Slim. We took a deep dive with Justin Martin and the energy was at an all-time high.
Expansions
Nestled within the trees of Union Park was the Expansions stage and it roared with house and techno for three days and three nights. Day one brought us Blu 9, Hiroko Yamamura b2b DJ Hyperactive, Pan-Pot, Sama’ Abdulhadi, ANNA, and Richie Hawtin. Techno heroine, ANNA was one of our top sets of the weekend. The intimate stage setting and the nature elements of Expansions plus ANNA’s impeccable tracklist was everything we needed and more.
Day two’s lineup featured Carl Craig b2b Seth Troxler, Ricardo Villalobos, Derrick Carter b2b Mark Farina, and closer, Honey Dijon. Honey Dijon threw down an unreal set with all of the house music you could dream of including her jazz-infused original, “Work.”
The final day held performances from Giolì & Assia, Acid Pauli, DJ Tennis, and Ben Böhmer. We spent the most time at Expansions on day three and discovered some new artists, which is one of the best parts of attending music festivals. Italian duo, Giolì & Assia truly wowed us with their live setup and use of instruments and vocals. Acid Pauli took the stage next and his musicality was unlike anything we’ve heard before – it was techno, it was deep house, it was ambient, it was eclectic, it was the mastermind of Acid Pauli.
ARC Car aka The GoodBus
Last, but certainly not least, the ARC Car powered by The GoodBus. The GoodBus was a modified 45 foot school bus converted with a mission to deliver good music and good vibes. The bus ran on the fuel of Chicago’s thriving house and techno scene with sets from local artists, Jeilah, Girasol, Jaygee, Inphinity, Loren, GoodSex, Dani Deahl, DEEPFAKE, and many more. We ended our time at ARC by meeting up our festival family at the ARC Car for DEEPFAKE. The masked, mysterious twosome closed the second edition festival with a sense of nostalgia, playing the classic track, “Castles In The Sky,” while fireworks filled the air. It was the perfect ending to ARC Music Festival 2022!
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