There's An Incredible Chicago Hip-Hop Showcase This 4th Of July... In Milwaukee

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on May 30, 2017 4:45PM

Jamila Woods / Facebook

The Fourth of July will be here faster than you can get away from the lit fuse of a bottle rocket. And while there's no shortage of Independence Day blowouts right here in town—from the official fireworks display at Navy Pier to the much-recommended neighborhood counter-programming—this might be the year to consider a holiday road trip to visit our neighbors in Wisconsin, and still see some familiar faces.

While scrolling through this year's lineup of Summerfest—Milwaukee's annual, multi-day hat toss into the music-festival ring—we came across a particularly enticing day of acts that stuck out amid the classic-rock legacy acts, chart heroes and mid-tier familiar faces. It turns out the Fourth of July itself is something of a mini-spotlight on Chicago hip-hop. Homegrown favorites OddCouple, Jamila Woods, Saba and Joey Purp are all slated to perform individual sets on July 4. That's a lot of incredible, Chance-adjacent hip-hop packed into a short slot. (All four of them released work that landed on Our Picks For The 25 Best Albums By Chicago Artists Of 2016.) And if you just want to dip in for that day, it'll only set you back $20 for single-day general admission.

Now, you don't have to schlep up to Milwaukee to catch these choice acts. If you're going to Pitchfork Music Festival and Mamby on the Beach, you'll see all of them right here in Chicago, in fact. But if you're still on the prowl for Fourth of July holiday plans that involve getting the hell out of Chicago for a while, we can't imagine you'll find a better option.

Summerfest (the whole shebang) runs from June 28 to July 9. Ticket information is available here.