Chicago residents will have to hop in a car or board the Metra if they plan to attend Spring Awakening Music Festival this summer. This afternoon, organizers React Presents revealed that the annual EDM fest will take place June 7–9 at the Poplar Creek at 59-90 Entertainment District in Hoffman Estates, a northern suburb of Chicago. While it's unclear what part of the Poplar Creek district Spring Awakening plans to use, a recent memo from Hoffman Estates Village Manager James H. Norris suggests that the event will take over the parking lots and land to the west of the Sears Center.
DJ Snake, Zedd, Martin Garrix, Rezz, Griz and DJ Illenium have been confirmed as headlining acts of the electronic-focused fest, which typically books a lineup filled with EDM, dubstep, house, trance and techno performers. Spring Awakening's 2019 lineup will include more than 90 artists, the remainder or which will be revealed on Friday, March 15.
While Spring Awakening will offer onsite parking for the first time in the history of the event, attendees will also be able to travel to the festival via Metra. According to a release, Spring Awakening will provide "complimentary shuttles from nearby Metra stations," which presumably includes the Union Pacific Northwest station in Barrington and the Milwaukee District West station in Elgin.
Spring Awakening's latest move comes after a failed attempt to relocate the event from its home of three years in Addams/Medill Park, which is unavailable this summer due to construction on a new recreation center and soccer field. Last year, organizers initially announced that Douglas Park, the North Lawndale space that hosts Riot Fest, would be the site of Spring Awakening's 2019 edition. Those plans were quietly scuttled after 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas told the Chicago Tribune that representatives of the festival had not contacted him or community members to gain their approval.
While React Presents is spinning Spring Awakening's move to the ’burbs as a positive development for the festival, it's a clear setback for an event that has benefitted from Chicago's public transportation, culture and dining options (at least there's a Culver's in Hoffman Estates) since it was founded in 2008. Only time will tell if the relocation is just a temporary solution while organizers secure a new Chicago venue or a permanent departure from the city.