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Hyde Park Summer Fest is back June 17-18 on the Midway Plaisance at 59th Street and Dorchester Avenue.
This year, with the 50th anniversary of hip hop, fest organizer Jonathan Swain says organizers were intentional about highlighting Chicago’s hip hop scene and music.
“We’re putting that front and center to honor the folks and hip hop that has come out of Chicago,” he said.
The fest will feature artists like Vic Mensa, Twista, Crucial Conflict, Shawnna, Clipse and 2 Chainz over the two days. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Swain.
Hyde Park Summer Fest, which was formerly Hyde Park Brew Fest, continues to grow annually, Swain said.
“Remember when we started this, it was 500 people in a parking lot,” Swain said. “We’re grateful for the support of the community, and we’re grateful that we’ve been seen as a highlight in the Midwest, a festival of this nature that’s speaking to a particular community and trying to bring people together all around Chicago.
“There are not many music festivals that are Black-owned and Black-led in the country. Chicago is one of the few places where you have us, the Silver Room Block Party and the Chosen Few Picnic. I think that’s special about Chicago, so as we see Summer Fest grow, we continue to learn, lean on one another for information and insight.”
Swain expects the event will hire between 250 to 300 people for temporary jobs and feature local food vendors who are primarily Black and people of color.
“Getting people of color into this space is important to us and that’s what we’ve been doing since we started this almost 10 years ago,” Swain said.
The festival vibes will be as strong as years prior, with some tweaks: a better VIP area, where the entrance will cut down on the lines and the addition of two stages to provide more space for upcoming local talent.
The Hyde Park Summer Fest will host a community talent showcase to spotlight up-and-coming Chicago talent at The Promontory in Hyde Park May 17. Local talent will be judged by five community members in the music industry. Fifteen local artists were invited to perform at the showcase. Winners of the showcase will be announced May 25 and get the opportunity to perform on Day 2 of the festival.
Summer Fest will also have more event access for community neighbors, such as schools, nonprofits and small businesses.
“We’re giving ticket donations to them (the institutions) to allow them to use it either for their clients or fundraising to give people more access to the event,” Swain said. “We’re making an investment of roughly over $50,000 worth of tickets that we’ll be giving away to nonprofits to distribute.”
Summer Fest partnered with BOWA Gives, the philanthropic arm of BOWA Construction, for a second year in hopes of highlighting nonprofits in and around the community. Last year, BOWA Gives matched a portion of ticket sales that was donated to Chicago Public Schools.
“We’re going to bring back that same community give back element, changing it up a bit on how the money will be distributed to organizations,” said Ashley-Lauren Ehimwenman, marketing director of BOWA Construction. “We have identified area youth organizations in Hyde Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, South Shore — we try to touch every neighborhood that is a part of Summer Fest’s reach to highlight them on our social reels … use our influence to drive attention and exposure to their organization.”
Ehimwenman said BOWA, which is seeking help from the Chicago Community Trust, is working on creating a process for youth organizations to apply for funds raised by Summer Fest. “We won’t give the funds out at the event like we did last year,” she said. “We want to have a deeper impact. And that’s why we decided, let’s make it a process where they have to apply for a grant.”
Ehimwenman welcomes other philanthropic entities to join the Summer Fest fray in the future, and to reach out to start having those conversations now.
“This is about community, about celebrating the best of Chicago as reflected on the South Side of Chicago,” Swain said. “This is about trying to give people amenities and also changing the narrative. When people hear about the South Side they hear about it differently through this lens, a real lens versus the lens that oftentimes is told about the South Side of Chicago.”
Hyde Park Summer Fest takes place noon to 10 p.m. June 17-18 at the Midway Plaisance Park near the University of Chicago campus, entry gates are located near 59th Street and Ellis Avenue. Tickets are $89-$349 (children 11 and younger are free with a ticket-holding adult, limit one child per ticketed adult). More information at hydeparksummerfest.com
