2016 will be my first adventure at the North Coast Music Festival, and the lineup is diverse enough that I’ll get to see a lot of different stuff. There’s some cool Chicago bands, a Beatles’ son, and enough bass to shake Union Park to the ground. There isn’t one thing I want to see as much as I wanted to see D’Angelo and The Roots last year (couldn’t make it), but there are definitely some things I’m looking forward to.
The party gets started right off the bat at 3pm on Friday with the funky grooves of Nasty Snacks at the Skyline Stage. I caught their set at Lincoln Hall back in February for Dunn Dunn Fest, and these cats can jam. They battled their way into a spot at the fest through a contest with a few others and they definitely deserve to be heard.
Then at 3:45 another Chicago native gets going, with songstress Jamila Woods hitting the North Stage.
You can check out Louis The Futon on the Skyline Stage at 4:30, or take a break to prepare yourself to do the “Harlem Shake” with Baauer back at the North Stage. Around this time, the silent disco’s both start up as well. A lot to choose from before dinner.
7:30 brings a real dilemma to the festival, with Juicy J on the North Stage and Sleigh Bells on the Coast Stage. Your decision may be made easier if I tell you that Grouplove is headlining the Coast Stage at 9. If you want a good spot for them, I’d recommend setting up for Sleigh Bells. However, if the only way you want to see Grouplove is if they’re doing their Bojack Horseman tune, you could catch some of Juicy J and then head over to the Skyline Stage to see Odesza close out night one.
Except they aren’t really closing it out, because North Coast has some fun late shows planned:
Sleigh Bells are doing a DJ set at the always trendy Virgin Hotel Cerise Rooftop
Galantis will perform at Prysm Nightclub
Baauer will be at The Mid
Saturday doesn’t get off to a quick start, but there’s a lot of great stuff going on in the middle of the day. Vulfpeck hits the Skyline Stage at 4:45 and then Ty Dolla $ign and Ruary hit back to back on the North Stage and Coast Stage. I’m most excited to see Raury, as his passionate and soulful delivery make him a different kind of rapper.
The Floozies go on right after Ruary starts, so I’ll probably miss them. I have seen them before, though, and they put on a good show. At 7:45 The Claypool Lennon Delirium starts up on the North Stage, and I have no idea what to expect. I was never a big Primus fan, though I never thought them untalented, and Sean Lennon’s music just never caught my attention. If nothing else, it should get pretty weird. That might make it worth checking out on its own.
The one thing I’m most interested to see is Bassnectar. I’ve watched videos on Youtube, and the effort that goes into the production of his sets is ridiculous. I’m not a huge fan of the music, but the experience is something I’m excited to check out. He headlines Saturday night at the Skyline Stage while Logic plays on the Coast Stage.
Saturday Afters include Ty Dolla $ign at Prysm, Umphrey’s McGee at Concord Music Hall, and Joey Purp and Saba at Bottom Lounge!
On Sunday DJ Tony Trimm is rocking in the silent disco, so if you want to just chill for a bit, that might be a good place to start.The first act I think I’ll actually make an effort to see is Matt & Kim at 5:40 on the North Stage. They’ve come and gone from my good graces over the years, but I’ve never seen them live, so I think I need to. Before that, I’d see Tauk at 2:40 and The Polish Ambassador at 4:45.
Matt & Kim overlaps with Greensky Bluegrass a bit, so you’ll have to jet early if you wanted to catch both.
The last few hours of the festival are pretty full, with Action Bronson on the North Stage at 7:30 and both Umphrey’s McGee and Zedd headlining stages to close it out. I’ve never been a big Umphrey’s fan, so I’d lean toward Zedd. If you’d heard a song on the radio over the last couple years, chances are Zedd did something with it. His set is a fun mix with a lot of samples and pyrotechnics.
If you still don’t feel like you got enough, there’s afters on Sunday, too:
Zedd will be at Prysm Nightclub
Sam Feldt will be at The Mid
A ton of stuff is going on at Evilolive with three rooms of entertainment
For a full schedule of the festival and after parties, check out the North Coast website.
The festival runs from September 2nd-4th at Union Park in Chicago.