The summer celebration in Chicago’s South Side returns with a new flex..
After two cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, Hyde Park Summer Fest is returning this June with a brand-new location and an exciting lineup comprising world-renowned artists across multiple genres including hip-hop and R&B.
The two-day festival, which first debuted back in 2014, will now take over the Midway Plaisance during the second weekend of June. So far we know that the rapper and actor Busta Rhymes will headline on Saturday but the Sunday headline act is yet to be revealed. Over the weekend there will be performances from Chicago artists Lupe Fiasco and BJ the Chicago Kid as well English singer and songwriter Marsha Ambrosius and a range of talented DJs including DJ Jazzy Jeff of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame.
Three acts are yet to be announced all of which appear to be significant names in the waiting as seen in the festival poster below. One of which, reported to be a Grammy Award-winning international artist, will be the headline act on Sunday, June 12, and will be announced in the coming weeks.
Formerly known as the Hyde Park Brew Fest, organizers and founders Dave Jeff and Jonathan Swain have renamed the festival the Hyde Park Summer Fest and moved it a mile and a half from its original location to the Midway Plaisance on 59th Street and Ellis Avenue.
“The pandemic may have stopped us before, but we are coming back stronger than ever with COVID safety protocols. We got a solid group of folks that are all aligned on trying to make this the best Hyde Park Summer Fest that we’ve ever had, being the inaugural Hyde Park Summer Fest in name”, said Jonathan Swain. “To be able to kick this off again in June, and to experience kind of the first real summertime Chi that we’ve had in two years, we are really excited about it”.
The Hyde Park Summer Fest will take place from midday to 10:00 pm on both Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12. Now a ticketed event for the first time, early-bird general admission tickets start at $49 each day for anybody 12 and older while an early-bird two-day pass starts at $80. Children under 12 will be able to enter for free with an adult ticket holder. Early bird ticket prices will end on March 31 after which the prices for all tickets will increase.
A portion of this year’s ticket sales will be donated to local CPS schools which will be matched by BOWA Gives, a charitable initiative set up by BOWA Construction.
More information can be found at hydeparksummerfest.com.