Video from NCMF 2011 by Matt Woskey
As music fanatics, we’re extremely lucky living in Chicago. Most cities are fortunate to have ONE major music festival a year. But this year in Chicago, we had FIVE. Lollapalooza is obviously the bread winner, Pitchfork gets all the hype, and Wavefront and Spring Awakening launched their inaugural fest this summer. But there’s one festival that stands out amongst the rest to us. One festival that just feels right. There’s no question, every summer, that North Coast Music Fest is our favorite. With a fantastic blend of jambands, funk, hip hop, and damn near every genre of EDM, North Coast embodies the scope & taste of Soundfuse like no other Chicago festival. Not only that, but it’s organized by a group of the awesome independent promoters from Chicago who throw many of the shows we cover. From the moment NCMF was born, we’ve known that we’d be in Union Park every Labor Day Weekend for years to come.
There are plenty of big names on this year’s line up; most of us are quite familiar with Pretty Lights, STS9, Umphrey’s McGee, Atmosphere, and Paul Oakenfold. So let’s talk about some artists who might be flying under the radar or just don’t get the press they deserve. DFA Records, based out of New York, has two artists on the bill: YACHT and The Rapture. Both groups follow the indie label’s dance-rock ethos and fit the motto “too old to be new, too new to be classic.” 24 year old British DJ/producer Maya Jane Coles is a sensation globally and has accomplished a lot in such a short amount of time. She finished #9 in last year’s Resident Advisor Top 100 DJ’s Poll; she was also the only female in the Top 10. She was the top DJ we saw at Movement Detroit this past spring, we have been looking forward to another show for some time. There are also two guys carrying the disco torch: Smart Bar resident Kid Color and vinyl connoisseur Wyllys. They will face against each other in the silent disco tent Saturday at 6:45 P.M. and Wyllys will be with his New York Hustler Ensemble on Sunday at 1:30 on the North Stage. And then we have four of Chicago’s best bands — Digital Tape Machine, Van Ghost, Strange Arrangement and IndigoSun — holding it down for the city.
On the hip hop front, we are excited to see 1/2 of OutKast in the form of Big Boi. He played here two years ago at Pitchfork Music Festival with a live band accompanying a DJ and it worked really well. Hailing all the way from Los Angeles is the group People Under the Stairs, who have performed thousands of sold-out shows around the globe. And there’s Two Fresh, the live hip hop and electronica act featuring brothers Kendrick and Sherwyn Nicholls and drummer Colby Buckler. These guys have developed some serious chemistry from years on the road spent honing their craft. And for some edgier stuff, we’d recommend you check out Thibault and Dan Deacon. Deacon has earned praise for live shows which require a lot of audience participation and interaction. Thibault is will be pulling double duty with his own solo sets as well as with Auto Body.
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Pretty Lights – Girl Talk – STS9 – Umphrey’s McGee
Axwell – Steve Angello – Knife Party – Atmosphere
Steve Aoki – Excision – Alesso – Paul Oakenfold
Big Boi – The Rapture – EOTO
Digitalism – Chuckie – Tommy Trash
Yelawolf – Modestep – Felix da Housecat – Mord Fustang – Future Rock – Midnight Conspiracy
Beats Antique - YACHT – Dan Deacon – Gramatik – Rebirth Brass Band – BoomBox
Digital Tape Machine – Maya Jane Coles – King Khan & the Shrines – Thundercat – Papadosio
NiT GriT – Savoy – Two Fresh – Minnesota – Van Ghost – Com Truise – People Under the Stairs – Zion I
Mr. MFN eXquire -Zebo -Auto Body -Thibault -Wyllys & the New York Hustler Ensemble
AbdeCaf – Family Groove Company – Team Bayside High – Strange Arrangement – Stratus – LoBounce
Gentlemen Hall – NORdjs -Paul Universe – Mario Florek – Kid Color – DJ SOLO
ProbCause -Orville Kline – BUHAY – Mathien – Jamie Lono – Arts of Life Band
IndigoSun – Second City Citizens -Vapor Eyes – Ignorant Noise
Groupon Noise Refuge Personal Time Silent Disco
Alex Kislov – ATLIS – Avi Sic – Bisharat Benji – Gunplay – BUHAY – Dakota – DanceFloor Destroyers
Dani Deahl -Deafside – Deejay Pickel – Digital Departure – DJ Dante – DJ Demchuk – DJ Intel
DJ Moppy – DJ RC – DJ RTC – DJ SOLO – DJ Trew – Fleege – Gemini Club – Greg Corner – Hunter Vita – Intensive
Jaime Lopez – Joe Bryl – Kid Color – Konrad Gainnes – Kool Hersh – Lewis Gigson – Lou Dooben – MattBoyWhite
MEGA MIKE – Milk N Cookies – Miss Amphetamine – Mister Joshua – Moxxy – Mr Bobby – Orville Kline
Phenom Phives – Punky Fresh – SABOR – SUSHI – SWGGRBCK – Team Bayside High – Tima Fei – Vipeeps – WhyB – Wyllys
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AFTER PARTIES
Friday, August 31st
THE ONLY Official Hip hop North Coast Music Festival Event
Chance The Rapper, Add-2, Neak
9:00 PM (Doors) @ Cobra Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
GIRL TALK, w/ ZION I, DJ INTEL
9:00 PM (Doors) @ The Congress Theater
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Eliot Lipp, Thibault, The Coop
9:00 PM @ Bottom Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
PAUL OAKENFOLD
9:00 PM (Doors) @ Transit
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
MIDNIGHT CONSPIRACY w/ Nit Grit, AbdeCaf, Manic Focus
10:00 PM (Doors) @ House of Blues
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Oktave welcomes
Chris Liebing, Qbot, Jeff Derringer
10:00 PM @ Smart Bar
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Wolf + Lamb, Soul Clap
10:00 PM @ Spybar
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Saturday, September 1st
DAN DEACON w/ DJ LA JESUS
9:00 PM (Doors) @ Cobra Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Felix Da Housecat, Zebo, Porn N Chicken
9:00 PM @ Bottom Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
DOCTOR P – EOTO – LOBOUNCE
9:30 PM @ The Congress Theater
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
STS9, w/ Future Rock – SOLD OUT
10:00 PM (Doors) @ House of Blues
ALESSO – SOLD OUT
10:00 PM @ The Mid
5 Magazine’s 7th Anniversary party featuring
Marc”MK” Kinchen, Lauren Flax, Chez Boogie vs. Rees Urban
10:00 PM @ Smart Bar
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Sunday, September 2nd
GRIZMATIK featuring Gramatik, Griz, The M Machine, Paul Basic
9:00 PM (Doors) @House of Blues
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
THE RAPTURE (DJ Set) w/ Kid Color, Gun Love
9:00 PM (Doors) @ Cobra Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Rebirth Brass Band, Dumpstaphunk
9:00 PM (Doors) @ Bottom Lounge
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
UMPHREY’S MCGEE
9:30 PM (Doors) @ The Congress Theater
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Steve Angello
10:00 PM (Doors) @ The Mid
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Claude VonStroke w/ Maya Jane Coles, Justin Martin
10:00 PM @ Transit
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Queen! presents an evening w/
Frankie Knuckles, Michael Serafini, Garrett David
10:00 PM @ Smart Bar
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
