Summer music festivals you should watch for
Summer music festival season is officially here. Here's a look at some of the biggies in the city and the suburbs.
Spring Awakening
June 8-10 at Addams-Medill Park, 1301 W. 14th St., Chicago; springawakeningfestival.com
Top billing: Tiesto, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Gareth Emery, Pete Tong, Big Gigantic and more
Local draws: Chicago stakes its claim on electronic talent with sets from Kaskade, Stratus, Win and Woo, Xonic, GoodSex, Tsunami, Porn N Chicken, Mielo and more.
Tickets: Single-day general admission passes are $89-$99; single-day VIP passes start at $139. Three-day passes are sold out.
Blues on the Fox
June 15-16 at RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora; riveredgeaurora.com
Top billing: Aaron Neville, Sonny Landreth, Elle King, Samantha Fish, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer
Local draws: You may have seen Toronzo Cannon around town, but if you've never seen him at home at a blues festival, you're in for a treat.
Tickets: $30 per day
Mamby on the Beach
June 23-24 at Oakwood Beach, 4100 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago; mambybeach.com
Top billing: Common, Spoon, Cold War Kids, Grizzly Bear, Russ, St. Lucia and more
Local draws: Gene Farris, DJ Hyperactive, Hiroko Yamamura, Windy City Soul Club and more rep Chicago on this year's lineup.
Tickets: Single-day passes are $79 per day, with VIP starting at $119. Two-day general admission passes are $109; $189 for two-day VIP passes.
101-WKQX PIQNIQ
June 30 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park; 101wkqx.com
Top billing: AWOLNATION, Dashboard Confessional, Bush, The Neighborhood, The Front Bottoms and more
Local draw: Plainfield's Marina City brings electric pop to the big stage.
Tickets: Start at $20
Naperville's Ribfest
July 4-July 7 at Knoch Park on West Street, Naperville; ribfest.net
Top billing: Steven Tyler & the Loving Mary Band, Pitbull, Stray Cats, Melissa Etheridge, Jake Owen and more
Local draws: Libido Funk Circus, 7th heaven, Billy Croft & the 5 Alarm, Lime Forest, Wild Daisy and more
Tickets: Gate entry $15-$75. Show tickets are extra; see the website for pricing packages.
Pitchfork Music Festival
July 20-22 at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St., Chicago; pitchforkmusicfestival.com
Top billing: Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Fleet Foxes, Blood Orange, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan and more
Local draws: A few area bands represent Chicago talent, including Melkbelly, Irreversible Entanglements and more.
Tickets: $75 for single-day general admission passes; three-day passes for $175; Pitchfork-Plus pass for $375.
Vans Warped Tour
July 21 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park; vanswarpedtour.com
Top billing: 3OH!3, Simple Plan, State Champs, The Maine, Senses Fail and more
Local draws: Sleep On It returns to the touring fest stage with a slot on Warped, along with Knuckle Puck, Real Friends and Harm's Way.
Tickets: $45-$55.
North Coast Music Festival
Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St., Chicago; northcoastfestival.com
Top billing: Jamiroquai, Miguel, The Strumbellas, Robert DeLong, Gramatik and more
Local draws: Chicago provides loads of back-to-back action to the lineup with Porn N Chicken vs. 2FAC3D, Bentley Dean vs. Steve Gerard and Ron Carroll vs. DIZ.
Tickets: $45-$55 for single-day general admission; $65-$95 for VIP. $129 for three-day general admission; $199 for three-day VIP.
Riot Fest and Carnival
Sept. 14-16 at Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive, Chicago; riotfest.org
Top billing: Beck, blink-182, Elvis Costello, Incubus, Interpol, Blondie, Father John Misty, Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion, Bleachers, Cypress Hill ... and this is just the first wave of the lineup.
Local draws: Twin Peaks and Beach Bunny head up the charge of Chicago and suburban artists.
Tickets: Three-day general admission is $159; three-day VIP packages start at $329.98.
Fests to watch
Chicago Blues Festival: June 8-10 at Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago, cityofchicago.org
Taste of Randolph: June 15-17 at 900 W. Randolph St., Chicago, starevents.com
World's Largest Block Party: June 22-23 at the Old St. Pat's Campus, at Monroe and Desplaines streets, Chicago, worldslargestblockparty.com
Country LakeShake: June 22-24 at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago, lakeshakefestival.com
Long Grove Strawberry Fest: June 22-24 in downtown Long Grove, 308 Old McHenry Road, longgrove.org
Logan Square Arts Festival: June 22-24 at Logan Square, Chicago, logansquareartsfestival.com
Motoblot Road Show: June 22-24 outside the Cobra Lounge, 235 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, motoblot.com
Ruido Fest: June 22-24 at Addams/Medill Park, 1301 W. 14th St., Chicago, ruidofest.com
B96 Pepsi Summer Bash: June 23 at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, b96.radio.com
Lisle's Eyes to the Skies: June 27-July 1 at Community Park, 1825 Short St., Lisle, eyestotheskies.org
American Music Festival: June 29-July 1 and July 3 at FitzGerald's, 6615 W. Roosevelt Road, Berwyn, fitzgeraldsnightclub.com
Windy City Ribfest: June 29-July 1 at 4800 N. Broadway, Chicago, chicagoevents.org
West Fest: July 6-8 on Chicago Avenue between Damen and Wood, Chicago, westfestchicago.com
Taste of Chicago: July 11-15 at Grant Park, Jackson and Columbus avenues, Chicago, cityofchicago.org
Square Roots Festival: July 13-15 on Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Wilson avenues, Chicago, squareroots.org
Windy City Smokeout: July 13-15 at 560 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, windycitysmokeout.com
Taste of River North: July 20-22 at Ward Park, 630 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, tasteofrivernorth.com
Homegrown Arts & Music Festival: July 21 at BaseCamp Pub & Eatery, 5750 Lakeside Drive, Lisle, homegrownartsandmusicfestival.com
Wicker Park Fest: July 27-29 on Milwaukee Avenue from North Avenue to Paulina Street, wickerparkbucktown.com
Lollapalooza: Aug. 2-5 at Grant Park, 337 E. Randolph St., Chicago, lollapalooza.com
Summer Stomp Music & Camping Festival: Aug. 3-4 at McHenry Extreme Sports and Event Park, 1911 W. Fernview Lane, Holiday Hills, mackeyshideout.com
Resurrection Tour Fest: Aug. 5 at BaseCamp Pub & Eatery, 5750 Lakeside Drive, Lisle, basecamppub.com
Last Fling: Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Rotary Hill, 440 W. Aurora Ave., Naperville, lastfling.org
Würst Music and Beer Fest: Sept. 8-10 at Randolph and Ogden, Chicago. starevents.com
Long Grove Apple Fest: Sept. 21-23 in downtown Long Grove, 308 Old McHenry Road, longgrove.org
Punk the Burbs Fest: Sept. 22 at BaseCamp Pub & Eatery, 5750 Lakeside Drive, Lisle, ticketweb.com