Looking Ahead • Freaky Deaky
It's October, Halloween is just days away and Chicago's festival season is going strong. Formerly limited to summer months, React Presents stretched out the already stacked lineup of festivals that call our city home with the addition of Freaky Deaky and Reaction NYE. Freaky Deaky went from a single day event at the now defunct Congress Theater, to a two days at Aragon, and now it's about to kick off it's three days party for the second year at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
A little off the beaten path compared to its past haunts, but Toyota Park is the perfect setting for a Halloween party this big. Transforming a parking lot into a labyrinth of stages, vendors, fire and a crowd of especially festive concert goers. All festivals attract unique style, but throw in Halloween and things get weird. For those few moments you take a break from the party, Freaky Deaky has you covered with refreshments from some of your favorite eats including Cheesies, Porkchop and Harold's among others. Check out their website for all those details and more including a site map and a festival guide you should check out before heading out tonight.
Below you you'll find my weekend in a nutshell as well details on all the after parties going on around town. While I think my schedule below is perfect, if you mistakenly want to create your own you can do that here.
Day 1
Like almost every day 1, we're fresh and ready to make this weekend our bitch, but not before putting in an honest days work. At least that's what I have to do. For the rest of the weekend warriors like me, make sure to cut out of work a little early to get to the festival ground before the Flatbush Zombies 5:45pm set at the Shrine Stage. The New York trio is one of my favorite acts to see perform live and they're going to act as a jolt of energy to your system right out the gate. Follow them up with Mr. Save That Money, Lil Dicky. Hate him or love him, he's guaranteed to entertain and good comic relief between Flatbush and Kanye protege Travis Scott. Now every time I've seen Travis Scott perform, he's scaled building and stages, and even incited a riot during Lollapalooza 2015. We hope Travis manages to perform his whole set this time, but we certainly appreciate his gusto. Wrap night one up with a DJ set from Disclosure, the brother duo from England that took the world by storm with their 2013 release Settle. It's been mayhem for them since.
5:45pm - Flatbush Zombies - The Shrine Stage
7:00pm - Lil Dicky - The Big Top Stage
8:15pm - Travis Scott - The Shrine Stage
9:30pm - Disclosure - The Shrine Stage
Day 2
It's day 2 and I hope you set your alarm. Gates open earlier today and we're getting there shortly after they do for home town DJ that has seen some great success in his your career this year. In fact Freaky Deaky kicks off a tour run that Whethan will be on through the end of the year. You'll have a little time to breath after Whethan's set, and take advantage of it, the rest of the day gets busy. It's ILoveMakkonen at 4:45pm still making Atlanta proud followed by California DJ duo Hippie Sabotage and Colorado's Paper Diamond, both huge names in U.S. electronic music for some time and both put on a memorable show. Most of the afternoon has been electronic acts, but when it gets dark, the mood shifts and as Metro Boomin takes the stage at 7:00pm. Never a dull performance and a set you might even catch a surprise guest at. Metro leads into Fergenstein, who sets the stage for the big Khaled finale. I've never seen the success that is DJ Khaled in person, but I look forward to getting the keys keys keys...
3:15pm - Whethan - The Big Top Stage
4:45pm - ILoveMakkonen - The Shrine Stage
5:45pm - Hippie Sabotage - The Big Top Stage
6:00pm - Paper Diamond - The Shrine Stage
7:00pm - Metro Boomin - The Shrine Stage
8:30pm - A$AP Ferg - The Shrine Stage
9:30pm - DJ Khaled - The Big Top Stage
Day 3
Day 3, time to end the weekend on a strong note here, and that shouldn't be difficult with an evening packed with memorable music. D.R.A.M. could be the most exciting on this list, given his recent album release and overall relevance to the music landscape at this moment. But even if you don't want to make it early, Desiigner and Schoolboy Q will be more than enough for the hip-hop-heads. And for those looking for something with slightly less lyricism, German electro-house staple Boys Noize should get the blood pumping. And if you really enjoy Boys Noize, you should probably just skip Schoolboy and go straight to Tiësto, who has been doing this for decades and can throw a good show even if the idea of trance is nausea inducing to you.
4:45pm - D.R.A.M. - The Big Top Stage
6:00pm - Boys Noize - The Big Top Stage
6:45pm - Desiigner - The Shrine Stage
8:30pm - Schoolboy Q - The Big Top Stage
It should now be clear, if you were looking for Halloween plans, look no further. Freaky Deaky and React continue to keep Chicago's big room events on lock. And if the above wasn't enough, you can find the after shows below as well.
After Parties
