ARC Returns to the Birthplace of House Music for Scintillating 2025 Festival

ARC Music Festival returned to Chicago’s Union Park over Labor Day Weekend, reinforcing itself as one of the nation’s strongest showcases of house music in the genre’s birthplace. 

This year, b2b sets stood tall within ARC’s programming, a curatorial choice that has become integral to the festival’s identity since its debut in 2021. The weekend delivered a slew of compelling pairings: Adam Beyer with Layton Giordani in a meaningful mentor-mentee moment; Green Velvet DJing as Cajmere with Carl Craig; Interplanetary Criminal with Malugi; Boys Noize with VTSS; and Rossi with Josh Baker, to name a few.

Expansions, a clear crowd favorite, saw two defining moments: Green Velvet b2b Skepta’s Mas Tiempo on Saturday and Honey Dijon b2b Derrick Carter on Sunday, which felt like a fitting ARC finale.

Chicago’s roots ran as deep across the lineup as a deep-dish pizza. Gene Farris teamed with Tini Gessler at elrow, Felix da Housecat linked with Mike Dunn at The Grid, and Octo Octa spun vinyl with Eris Drew at Area 909. EDM.com Class of 2024 artist Hamdi, now a Chicago resident himself, closed out Friday at Area 909 alongside Riordan in an energetic B2B.

And John Summit, arguably Chicagoland’s biggest current export, wrapped up Sunday night at The Grid with a high-energy finale, fittingly opening with “In Chicago” before unleashing an anthemic set punctuated by a fireworks display.

While ARC feels more like a musical showcase than a festival built around flashy mainstages, the festival’s four stages remain central to its DNA. Expansions once again delivered with its wide-open dance space and crystal-clear sound. The Grid leveled up with added production muscle, set against the Chicago skyline.

Area 909 doubled down on intimacy with surround sound, shipping containers and graffiti art that fostered a gritty warehouse feel. And elrow’s Enchanted Forest takeover once again turned the Union Park tennis courts technicolor, with roaming characters and confetti blasts that made the sets feel part carnival, part rave.

ARC’s footprint stretched far beyond Union Park, however, beginning with Thursday’s official opening party at Radius, where Pryda kicked off the weekend. From there, the “ARC After Dark” series filled venues across the city from PRYSM to Smartbar to Spybar and even boats on Lake Michigan, before wrapping with a 7am party on Monday at Masada. Across the afterparty programming, artists like Sub Focus, Amelie Lens, FISHER and Summit kept the festival energy alive well after the park’s gates closed.

In just five years, ARC has become much more than a festival. It’s morphing into its own “Midwest Music Week,” where daytime programming feeds into the afterhours and Chicago’s homegrown legends share the stage with today’s brightest talents.

To that end, ARC once again reminded us that house music may be universal, but Chicago will always be home.

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