North Coast Returns For Its Second Year; Who Will Play?
By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 6, 2011 5:00PM
Though its future might have seemed questionable just a few months ago, especially amidst the shaky landscape of festivals in Chicago, North Coast Music Festival will return for its second year, again in Union Park on Labor Day weekend, September 2-4. With a bent distinctly different than other Chicago-based fests like Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, North Coast's return is surely welcome to music fans looking for more electronic, hip-hop and jam in their festival experience. Our reports last year were wholly positive, as North Coast put a nice cap on a festival season full of different experiences. For those looking to re-live that experience, or to experience it for the first time altogether, North Coast tickets will go on sale April 16th, the same day the lineup will be announced.
At $40 for single day tickets and $95 for three-day passes, North Coast carries a price tag similar to Pitchfork's, albeit slightly cheaper. While the slight hike in price from last year might be off-putting to some, we take it as a sign of bigger and better things to come for the young festival. Surely Lollapalooza comes into play when considering who might play North Coast, especially because of Perry Farrel's push to bring in more electronic dance music over the years, but we've batted around a few names that seem viable. It seems obvious that Justice will land somewhere. If not Lollapalooza, North Coast seems a distinct possibility for the duo to headline.
It will be interesting to see how the folks behind North Coast have decided to approach this year's lineup. Will it be an extension of last year's dubstep and electronic-jam focuses, which means acts like Rusko, Skrillex and The Glitch Mob? Or will they adjust to the ever-evolving landscape of electronic music and give us some of that UK sound that Chicago has been so heavily lacking? It's probably best to assume a mix of both, but we'll have to wait until April 16th to truly know.