After spending the past three years in Addams/Medill Park, Chicago's largest electronic music festival is on the move once again. This morning, organizers announced that the 2019 edition of Spring Awakening Music Festival will take place in Douglas Park, the North Lawndale green space that also hosts Riot Fest and was the site of the first Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash in August.
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The change in location was spurred by extensive construction in Addams/Medill Park, where work on the $25 million Exelon Student Recreation Center is currently underway. When it's finished, the 100,000-square-foot facility will house an indoor track, artificial turf field and basketball courts. The park is also gaining a natural turf baseball field and an artificial turf field that can be used for baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer.
The move to Douglas Park is the latest in a series of venue changes for Spring Awakening Music Festival, which will mark its eighth year in Chicago in 2019. The festival began as a series of concerts in 2008 before transforming into a two-day festival hosted outside of Soldier Field in 2012. In 2016, Spring Awakening announced that it would move to Jackson Park, but the Park District ultimately did not approve the event's permits, forcing organizers to take the EDM party to Addams/Medill Park, where it has remained for the past three years.
Spring Awakening Music Festival will take place from June 7 through 9, where the expanded footprint of Douglas Park will allow more room for art installations, experiences and, according to a release, “curious corners to find and lose oneself in.” Organizers are also promising that the latest edition of the festival will feature new stage designs, likely outfitted with the usual array of flashing lights and a few flame throwers.
If you can't wait to lock down your spot at Chicago's EDM bonanza, early bird passes to the festival go on sale Tuesday, November 13 at noon via the Spring Awakening website. If you purchased Spring Awakening tickets in 2016, 2017 or 2018, you should receive a loyalty code from the festival on Monday, November 12 that will allow you to purchase discounted tickets for the 2019 fest.