After hosting 30 concerts in Chicago last November as part of its 30 Days in Chicago festival, Red Bull will bring even more music to this city this November with the launch of a new festival that focuses on local musicians. This morning, organizers announced the lineup for Red Bull Music Festival Chicago, which will take place between November 3 and November 30 at venues throughout the city.
Red Bull partnered with local artists to help curate the festival's lineup, which showcases house, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, noise and gospel musicians from Chicago and beyond. In addition to performances, the festival will also feature a series of conversations that will be broadcasted live on Red Bull Radio, including discussions about women in the Midwest rave scene, an interview with Chicago house music legends Robert Williams and Ron Trent, and a panel about the connection between local food and music.
The festival kicks off at the Wintrust Arena on November 3, where Kanye West's label G.O.O.D. Music will host a showcase, featuring performances from Nas, Pusha T, Valee and more (maybe West himself will make an appearance, if he's moved to Chicago by then). Other highlights of the lineup include an evening with rapper Vic Mensa (November 8), a noise concert featuring local musicians like Fire-Toolz and TALsounds playing alongside Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) (November 9), a showcase of the city's Latin musicians (November 11) and an evening that explores the connection between gospel and house music (September 25).
Red Bull's festival will close with a pair of events that celebrate the vision of the organizing performers. On November 29, local drummer and bandleader Makaya McCraven will convene an international cast of players from his forthcoming album, Universal Beings, for an avant-garde jam session at the South Shore Cultural Center that will reimagine the record's compositions. Jamila Woods will curate the festival's final show on November 30, presenting her final performance of her debut solo album, HEAVN, at the Harold Washington Library Cultural Center with the help of a string section, a choir, a DJ, poets, dancers and visual artists.
Tickets for Red Bull Music Festival Chicago concerts and events will go on sale via Red Bull's website on Tuesday, September 25 at 10am. The price of admission for each event ranges from free to $20 (tickets for the G.O.O.D. Music showcase will range from $20–$50). You can take a look at the complete lineup of programming below and looking forward to a busy month of concert-going in November.
