Chicago’s Union Park paid an epic tribute to house music this Labor Day Weekend with its eclectic ARC Music Festival, now in its fifth year. Originating from Chicago’s boiler rooms over 40 years ago, ARC’s lineup featured an incredible range of dance music artists, including Derrick Carter, Cajmere/Green Velvet, DJ Heather, DJ Lady D, Mike Dunn; contemporary leaders such as Honey Dijon, Eris Drew, John Summit, Octo Octa, and Hiroko Yamamura; Detroit’s neighboring influences such as Carl Craig and HiTech; and global acts HAAi, Interplanetary Criminal, KI/KI, VTSS, and Chloé Caillet and many more.
As a nod to the very foundation that’s kept house music thriving for over four decades, the three day festival served as a safe haven for people across a range of communities. Smiles, trinket exhanges and good vibes rained down as intensely as the Elrow tent’s confetti.
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“As the house sound traveled abroad in the ’80s and beyond, its lineage became increasingly obscured. ARC aimed to reeducate the masses by placing pioneering Chicago artists side by side with the genre’s international torchbearers.” -ARC
ARC also continued with its ARC After Dark series from Thursday through Monday, keeping “the energy alive with artist aliases, exclusive back-to-backs, and label takeovers.”
Special thanks to Chicago native Taryn Valentine for the inspired images.
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