As the weather cools down and people start going back to their everyday lives, North Coast Music Festival is known to give us a final hoorah and remind us that next summer can’t come soon enough. The “Summer’s Last Stand” was back once again for its seventh year over Labor Day weekend at Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. The sold-out festival is known for it’s variety in musical acts, ranging from rap to alternative, funk to dubstep and everything in-between. Better yet, the location of the festival is held in the heart of the city, making it easy to attend because no hour-long road trips are required.
The festival is held over three days in a well-suited park in Chicago, only adding on to its already impressive atmosphere. The park is located in Chicago Near West Side which is a prominent and expansive community. The park is easy to get to since many trains and busses go by all the time. Luckily enough for me, I had the easability to walk from UIC to NCMF in quite a short amount of time after class. The park itself is small enough to maneuver from one set to another within minutes, making it easy to catch every set you had on your list — the park is also big enough that you can walk around freely and wander as you please with no interruption. I wouldn’t say that the sound bleed in between the stages was too awful, but I commend NCMF in the aspect that they had artists perform every other hour at the two main stages so that two were never on at the same time.
The entry lines were relatively short, only taking 15 minutes or so to get through, regardless of what time of day you arrived. VIP/Guest check-in was quick but also very thorough, which I am all for because safety should always be the highest priority for festival organizers. Upon entry through the main entrance, you walk in and see a plethora of different vendors, from pins and hats, to popcorn and chicken tenders. Having the vendors right by the entrance really does have its advantage, because festival-goers are tempted to take a look right away and maybe even hang out in the general area. A few perks were the awesome vendors that were handing out free food and items just for stopping by. As for the other amenities, rental lockers to hold your belongings were located by the main entrance and bathrooms were located in almost every corner of the festival, making the layout convenient in every aspect.
This year’s headliners included big names such as Bassnectar, Zedd, and Odesza. Although these names may lead you to think that it’s a mainly electronic music festival, North Coast did a great job of catering to every crowd and adding some gems in their lineup such as The Polish Ambassador, Logic, and Golf Clap. Whatever you were feeling that day, you could most likely find it at some stage. Bassnectar definitely took home the crown for the weekend. So many people attended his set and the faces of pure joy was an awesome site to see. With ODESZA becoming the powerhouse duo they are today, it was no doubt that they had the whole crowd wrapped around their fingertips. Galantis was overall so joyous and fun meanwhile Zomboy was a dubstep date on heaven on Sunday.
The main thing I noticed that was changed compared to past years was the stage names. In past years, stages were named after Chicagoland area codes, and this year they decided to change to the North, Skyline, and Coast stages. Not a big deal at all, but the area code stages did have their way of connecting you more to the festival because if you’re from the area, you’re bound to have one of those area codes. All in all, I’m a fan of the new stage names since having numbers dedicated to every stage gets kind of confusing at times; the new stage names really make it easy to remember.
The stages were located in a way that made it easy to get from one to another. They were all huge and well lit, making artist visuals look awesome regardless of what stage they were on. The only stage that could use some improvement was the Heineken House, as it was a giant dome that had a limited capacity, and the entry line in was always 50 people long, at least. For me personally, the Heineken House excelled in its lineup and is where I wanted to be the most, so having to wait in line just to see a favorite of yours is a little foolish. Hoping that next year brings either a bigger dome or just having the Heineken House line up on an actual stage outside.
My main concern of the weekend was however, the crowd. This is not something the festival can control because people with all sorts of musical tastes and backgrounds are welcome to North Coast, especially being held in such a diverse city. Like any crowd, you’re bound to run into a few bad apples that may or may not ruin your mood, but regardless, the atmosphere of the festival had its ways of cheering you up. These are the types of things that can happen at all ages festivals, but I still loved the atmosphere since I feel that age should not restrict someone from going to a concert or event they want to enjoy. There was a bit more garbage thrown on the ground compared to other festivals, but the staff did a wonderful job of trying to keep it clean and tidying up before the start of each consecutive day.
North Coast always excels year in and year out. They’ve been around for 7 years now and there’s no way to hold them back. The talent buyers know who to book in order for the festival to be diverse and that reflects in the crowd. With all that is going in the world nowadays, it’s nice to have a festival that brings the community and even attendees from afar all together.
