Spring Awakening Music Festival (SAMF) is an annual electronic dance music (EDM) festival held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The festival started at a theater in 2008, moved to

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...

in 2012–2015, and to Addams/Medill Park in 2016–2018. In 2019, the festival moved to the

Sears Centre The Now Arena (originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena and stylized as NOW Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb from Chicago, near land which formerly contained the Poplar Creek Musi ...

Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, with a small section in Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village now serves a ...

, the former site of the

Poplar Creek Music Theater Poplar Creek Music Theater was a concert venue located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The amphitheatre opened in 1980 and closed in 1994. It hosted a variety of popular musical acts during its 15-season existence. It consisted of a covered pav ...

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the festival was not held in 2020, and the 2021 event was held in October at Addams/Medill Park. The 2022 festival was scheduled to be held at the

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

on July 8–10, but was subsequently cancelled.

History

Spring Awakening was founded as a concert series in 2008. The event eventually outgrew the theater, and in 2012 SAMF was turned into a two-day outdoor

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

at Soldier Field by the Chicago-based promoting agency React Presents. In 2013, Spring Awakening Music Festival expanded to three days with over 90,000 people in attendance. SAMF has traditionally been held either the second or third weekend of June. Over the years, the festival has become increasingly popular due to the large fan base of electronic dance music in the Chicago area. As people now come from across the nation and globe just to attend the festival, there are discussed rumors that the festival could be extending onwards towards other states.

Producers

Founded in 2008, React Presents is a club, festival, and concert festival promotion company based in Chicago. React Presents produces four festivals: Spring Awakening Music Festival,

North Coast Music Festival The North Coast Music Festival is an annual festival held in Chicago on Labor Day weekend. Initially featuring a diverse mix of electronic, hip hop, folk, jam band, and rock acts, and a wide variety of performance and installation artists, in r ...

, Forever Festival, and Summer Set Music & Camping Festival.

2012

In 2012 SAMF became a two-day festival and was held June 16–17 at Soldier Field. The festival was initially announced to occupy the "Stadium Green" surrounding Soldier Field, but after overwhelming demand, the festival moved the main stage inside of the stadium at the north end zone. Over 50,000 people attended Spring Awakening Music festival 2012. Some of the main performers included

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the World' ...

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

Benny Benassi Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction". He started his career ...

Dillon Francis Dillon Hart Francis (born October 5, 1987), also known by the stage name DJ Hanzel, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. Early life Francis was born in Los AngelesAhmed, Insanul (March 13, 2012Who Is Dillon Francis?Complex. Retri ...

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

Flux Pavilion Joshua Steele (born 15 January 1989) better known by his stage name Flux Pavilion, is an English EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and label owner who has been performing since 2008. Flux Pavilion has headlined three US tours, two UK tours, ...

Hardwell Robbert van de Corput (; born January 7, 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by ''DJ Mag'' in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 i ...

, Datsik,

Morgan Page Morgan Wolf Page (born May 31, 1981) is an American DJ and music producer. His tracks include "The Longest Road", "Fight for You" and "In the Air". Page has received two Grammy Award nominations; a personal nomination for best remix with Nadia ...

and more.

2013

In 2013 SAMF expanded to a three-day festival and was held June 14–16, 2013 at Soldier Field. This year was much more organized and even bigger. The festival created a three-day "

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

". It was attended by kids in vibrant colors, creative outfits, and expressive jewelry to enjoy their favorite artist's music. Since Spring Awakening expanded to three days, they added another stage, totaling two stages and two tents, for over 100 world renown artists and over 75,000 attendees. Some of the main performers included

Bassnectar Lorin Gabriel Ashton, better known under his stage name Bassnectar (born February 16, 1978), is an American DJ and record producer. Biography Ashton grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. He initiall ...

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

, Bingo Players, Carnage, Chuckie, Excision, Flosstradamus,

Krewella Krewella is an American electronic dance music band from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Illinois, United States, that formed in 2007. Their musical style has been mainly described as EDM, dance-rock, and dance-pop. However, Krewella's style ...

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde l ...

, Nervo, Porn and Chicken,

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label Owsla, OWSLA at the age o ...

ZEDD Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...

, Zeds Dead and Zomboy.

2014

Spring Awakening had its third annual concert on June 13–15, 2014. In the 2014 season, Spring Awakening was one of the few remaining all age festivals. Spring Awakening Music Festival launched SAMF Safe & Sound, an initiative which encouraged attendees to contact security or the wellness team if they felt unsafe. React was purchased by SFX Entertainment last February. Some of the main artists included Tiesto,

Pretty Lights Derek Vincent Smith (born November 25, 1981), known by his stage name Pretty Lights, is an American electronic music producer. Pretty Lights was originally a music project consisting of Smith and Michal Menert, who left after the release of their ...

Knife Party Knife Party are an Australian electronic music duo consisting of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, two members of the drum and bass band Pendulum. The duo has worked with artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Steve Aoki, MistaJam, Foreign Begga ...

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-first on its 200 ...

, Big Gigantic,

, Bingo Players,

Eric Prydz Eric Sheridan Prydz (, ; born 19 July 1976), also known by his many aliases including Pryda () and Cirez D (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer. He rose to fame with his 2004 hit single " Call on Me", and saw continued chart success with "Pro ...

, A-Track,

Borgore Yosef Asaf Borger ( he, יוסף אסף בורגר; born 20 October 1987), known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and rapper. He is the founder of the label Buygore Records. Biography Yosef Asaf Bo ...

, Caked Up, Carnage, Chuckie, Datsik, DVBBS, Nervo,

Dj Snake William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is an Algerian French music producer and DJ, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called " Turn D ...

and more.

2015

The 2015 SAMF took place June 12–14, 2015 at Soldier Field. Artists included ZEDD,

, Tiesto,

Dada Life Dada Life are a Swedish DJ duo formed in 2006, which consists of Olle Cornéer and Stefan Engblom. They have released three albums, a number of singles and remixes and one compilation. The duo had early chart success in Belgium and the Netherlan ...

, Excision,

Flosstradamus Flosstradamus is the stage name of American DJ and musician Curt Cameruci. From 2007 until 2016, Flosstradamus consisted of Cameruci and Josh Young from Chicago. The duo announced they would both be pursuing solo careers, with Cameruci to continu ...

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—201 ...

, Zeds Dead,

Zomboy Joshua Mellody (born 1 June 1989), professionally known as Zomboy, is an English dubstep music producer, songwriter, and DJ whose mascot is a zombie. Biography Before Joshua Mellody was active under the name Zomboy, he had an Electronicore ...

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

Adventure Club Adventure Club is a Canadian electronic dance music duo composed of Christian Srigley and Leighton James, based out of Montreal, Quebec. The duo began as a hardcore pop-punk band before venturing into electronic dance music in 2011. They are ...

, Borgore, Bro Safari,

Headhunterz Willem Rebergen (born 12 September 1985), better known by his stage name ''Headhunterz'', is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Rebergen is also a voice actor. He has done dubbing for several movies and TV series. He started his career in 2005 work ...

, Party Favor,

Tommy Trash Thomas Olsen, better known by his stage name Tommy Trash, (born 15 November 1979) is an Australian DJ, record producer, and remixer. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California and signed to Ministry of Sound Australia. Biography Early ...

, Yellow Claw and Jack ü. In 2015 the festival had four stages to better accommodate more than 75 acts. SAMF had also changed its minimum age requirement to 18. The new changes came in the hope of making sure that safety is the number one priority for the fans, artists, and staff. An official spokesperson of SAMF quoted that they, "believe the festival is an experience for adults. This difficult decision was made to promote safety amongst our fans and ensure the best experience for our attendees and future attendees". A 19-year-old, Steve Vongkoth, died at the event; the death is thought to be drug-related.

2016

SAMF 2016 was held June 10–12, 2016 and had five stages, including two main stages for the very first time in the event's history, and hosted a wide array of over 100 acts from across the

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

spectrum. The main stage, dubbed the DJ Stage, held performances from Above & Beyond,

, The Chainsmokers,

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

, Carnage,

, DVBBS,

Dash Berlin Dash Berlin is a Dutch electronic music duo started in 2007 in The Hague by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn. Dash Berlin were voted the seventh most popular DJs in the world according to ''DJ Mag'' in 2012; Kalberg and Molijn were record pro ...

, and others. The second main stage, dubbed the Electronic Stage, showed

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...

, Zeds Dead,

Jamie xx James Thomas Smith (born 28 October 1988), known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the English indie pop band The xx. He has been described ...

RL Grime Henry Alfred Steinway (born February 8, 1991), better known by his stage name RL Grime, (previously known as Clockwork) is an American record producer and DJ. RL Grime specializes in trap and bass music and is a member of the Los Angeles electron ...

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, Disc jockey, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. Flyi ...

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were known ...

Gramatik Denis Jašarević (born 19 October 1984), known by his stage name Gramatik, is a Slovenian electronic music producer, originally from Portorož, Slovenia. He currently resides in New York City. Early life Denis Jašarević was born in Portorož ...

Gesaffelstein Mike Lévy (; born 24 June 1987), known professionally as Gesaffelstein (), is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and record producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as The Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Elec ...

Madeon Hugo Pierre Leclercq (; born 30 May 1994), better known by his stage name Madeon (), is a French DJ and music producer from Nantes, currently based in Los Angeles. He initially came to widespread public attention at 17 through a YouTube video, " ...

and more. The Bass Kitchen, Body Language, and Trance Arena stages provided attendees with the opportunity to experience nonstop variety in both music and visual displays. Record label

Dirtybird Records Dirtybird Records is an independent electronic music record label based in San Francisco, California. The label was founded in January 2005 by Claude VonStroke (aka Barclay Crenshaw) and specializes in a brand of house music he describes as "tech ...

, publication DJ Mag and

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...

curated the festivities, each hosting a slew of acts from all across the production spectrum throughout the weekend. In 2016, attendees experienced the event on the sprawling, grassy fields of Addams/Medill Park in the near West side of Chicago. Visitors had

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

options from both the CTA Pink Line and Green Line trains. The park was accessible from the Ashland, Roosevelt, and the 18th Street CTA buses.

2017

The 2017 Spring Awakening was held June 9–11 at Addams/Medill Park in Chicago's southwest side, near

Roosevelt Road Roosevelt Road (originally named 12th Street) is a major east-west street in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only south of Madison Street. It runs under this ...

and Ashland Avenue. The lineup included

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...

, Audien, Robin Schulz,

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

, and

. There were six different stages with performances from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM each day.

References

External links

Spring Awakening Festival
{{SFX Entertainment Music festivals established in 2012 Music festivals in Chicago Electronic music festivals in the United States 2012 establishments in Illinois