With festival season set to get underway in our hometown of Chicago, I’ve decided to toss you a list of the 12 acts you won’t want to skip during Spring Awakening. Taking place at Soldier Field from June 14th-June 16th, the festival will become the focus of the windy city music scene in just a matter of days. I hope y’all are getting adequately prepared for some heavy doses of bass music! Because it’ll be here before you know it. And stay tuned for part 2 of our Spring Awakening preview series, as we will be breaking down our list of the must see Chicago artists that will be permeating Soldier Field.

A-Trak:

Well, this should surprise nobody. A-Trak has been tearing up these types of lineups for years now. Viewed as one of the best DJ’s, if not the best, on this entire lineup, you really need to make any and all efforts to get to one of his two performances. Watch him at The Hangar on Friday night from 8:30-9:30pm or stop by his Saturday show from 5:15-6:15pm at the Bud Light Platinum Stage. The owner of Fool’s Gold Records has become a force to be reckoned with in the music industry and you should be so fortunate to have privilege to watch him smash up the decks live.

Andy C:

Drum & bass doesn’t have nearly enough of a presence at this year’s festival, so it’s important to capitalize on it when it comes around. On top of releasing his own originals, Andy C has a reputation for being a world-class DJ. He’s also the head honcho at DnB powerhouse label, RAM Records. Trust me, I’m going to make it a point to witness every single second of his entire set! Do yourself a huge favor and check out Andy C at the Equinox Stage from 5:00-6:00pm on Saturday evening.

Big Gigantic:

Big Gigantic has been plastered all over the festival scene for the last few years. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see them perform live by now, then you’ve probably been looking in all the wrong places. Dom & Jeremy caught up with The S&S at Mysteryland recently and gave us all the exclusive details on what they had been up to lately. I have a hunch the guys have something really special planned for their Sunday night set at Spring Awakening. Expect plenty of saxophone, ample amounts of bass, and an exquisite atmosphere.

Datsik:

Whenever the boss man at Firepower Records rumbles into our city, I can’t help but immediately take notice. I’ve been an avid fan of Datsik’s filthy brand of dubstep for years and his live performances always manage to impress me. Besides playing tons of his own (and often new/unreleased) music, he always seems to be on the cutting-edge of anything and everything EDM. There’s a good reason that this producer is so widely respected amongst his peers – he shows them tons of love. In his most recent works, Datsik collaborated with Barely Alive & did a remix for Destroid. He’s been busy making more moves than ever.

Destroid:

From 7:00-8:00pm on Friday night, the Equinox Stage might just turn into a giant UFO and blast off into outer space. Okay, perhaps I’m exaggerating just a tiny bit. However, if you find yourself with the sudden urge to experience Destroid (because that’s what it is, an experience), you should know full-well what you’re getting yourself into. This collaborative project from bass music heavyweights Excision, Downlink, & Space Laces has received overwhelming support since day one. Armed with alien costumes and futuristic electronic instruments, this show promises to be one of the most peculiar (and mind-blowing) Spring Awakening has to offer.

Feed Me:

From the days of “Blood Red” & “Cloudburn,” till his more recent releases like “Rat Trap” & “Ebb & Flow,” Feed Me’s versatile sound has clearly withstood the test of time. I’ve always been a sucker for any song with his and Tasha Baxter’s names on it. After a short “retirement” a couple years ago, Feed Me has really made quite the resurgence! For those of you that enjoy electro house, you honestly can’t afford to miss his DJ set at the Bud Light Platinum Stage on Friday from 7:30-8:30pm. This producer always puts on a fun live show!

Flux Pavilion:

In 2011, this would’ve been one of the acts that I would’ve been looking forward to the most. However, 2012 wasn’t quite as kind on Flux Pavilion. He began to stray away from those memorable dubstep ballads which helped him garner so much well-deserved recognition. And for awhile there, I kind of lost interest in his music as a whole. Well, he obviously picked up on the trend himself, because in 2013, Flux returned to manufacturing the type of bass tunes that landed him in this position in the first place. Since then, he’s carried an unbelievable amount of momentum into 2014. No one holds it down quite like the Circus Records headmaster.

Kill Paris:

What’s the best way to prepare for a weekend of excessive house music, adequate amounts of dubstep, and a little bit of everything else EDM? How about rocking out to the passionate vibes of Kill Paris? Yeah, I think that will do the trick. I’ve had tons of people ask me over the years how to define this musician’s insanely unique style of bass music, and I always reply with this term, “Future Funk.” Because at the end of the day, that is precisely what it sounds like. Blending distinct elements from more genres that you could ever imagine, Kill Paris just doesn’t meet the bar, he leaps clear over it! Every single time. Let me just say, OWSLA is not in the business of supporting dull artists. Anyone in the mood for some of that sweet baby-making music should make note of his 5:30-6-30pm slot on Friday.

Kill The Noise:

When it comes to some of my favorite names in the EDM industry, Kill The Noise consistently manages to find himself right near the top of the rankings. I mean, for heaven’s sake, the guy basically put out the dubstep song of the summer last year. Can we please give him some credit? You literally couldn’t show your face at a festival last summer without hearing a producer/DJ bust out his staggering remix of The M Machine’s “Ghosts In The Machine.” The tune’s popularity was borderline preposterous! I’d expect his SA set to be a bit more house-oriented, but if you don’t think KTN will drop a couple massive bangers, then you’re freaking crazy.

Manic Focus:

You’ll notice that Manic Focus is the only local artist that made it onto my list. After watching him rise out of the ranks of being labeled as a “local act,” John “JMac” McCarten has clearly been capitalizing on his chance to play ball with the big boys. Scheduled to take to the Bud Light Platinum Stage from 3:15-4:15 on Saturday afternoon, this show will provide you with the perfect chance to meet Chicago’s newest hometown hero. Not confined by the guidelines of one particular genre, MF’s sound is a brilliant mixture of hip-hop, bluegrass, and soulful electronic music. This phenomenal producer is making plenty of noise, all you’ve got to do is listen.

Pete Tong:

You don’t become an uber popular DJ at BBC – Radio 1 by having a poor song selection, that’s for sure. In fact, Pete Tong is known for consistently promoting some of the freshest music circulating through the EDM community. When you consider that he’s spent over 20 years on the radio doing this, you can obviously see why he’s become an expert. Head over to The Hangar from 6:30-7:30 on Saturday evening if you’re interested in finding out what all the fuss is about. I’m sure his set will be busting at the seams with oodles of new music.

Pretty Lights:

I won’t lie, there’s one act at Spring Awakening that I’m looking forward to 100x more than anyone else performing. Pretty Lights! Holding down the Bud Light Platinum Stage from 9:30-11:00pm on the second day of the festival, I expect Derek Vincent Smith to put on a show that will put every other act at SA to shame. Having been fortunate enough to catch one of the two shows that Pretty Lights did with a full band at The Aragon back in November, I couldn’t be more eager to experience it all again. Drawing on strong influences from every genre of music that you could possibly imagine, Pretty Lights paves his own path with his trailblazing sound.

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