The ARC Music Festival is one of the US festivals focused on EDM and house. It often offers a mix of established artists and local Chicago talents, building a bridge between the different subgenres.
In 2024, this popular US festival will start at the end of August, and end at the beginning of September. This is the fourth edition for the ARC festival, and it’s equally popular as its counterparts that have existed for more than a decade.
In this article, we’ll cover many important aspects, including the 2024 ARC Festival lineup, ticket details, and practical information for all of those who plan on visiting this festival.
When Is the ARC Music Festival 2024?
The festival takes place over Labor Day weekend, which is the last weekend of August, running from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1, 2024. As you suppose, dates may vary depending on what’s the last weekend of August, since the festival is tied to Labor Day.
Do you want to discover more festivals in August? Bass Canyon is surely one to consider!
Where Is the ARC Music Festival Held?
To experience the authentic ARC Festival lineup, you’ll have to pay a visit to Chicago’s Union Park. To be more precise, you need to look for this address: 1501 W. Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States. The event starts on August 30 at 14 o’clock.
While Lollapalooza is probably the most popular Chicago music festival, we believe that the ARC Music Festival lineup will also make you discover more exciting events there.
What Music Genres Does the ARC Festival Cover?
The ARC Music Festival lineup mostly features EDM genres, especially house and techno. Since house music is so typical for Chicago, it’s not even surprising that most of the acts belong to this genre. Surely, techno is a prominent genre, too. In addition, the lineup may feature vocal performances, instrumental acts, and many EDM subgenres or genre crossovers (pop and house, classical and techno, and similar combinations.)
Participation Lineup for the 2024 ARC Music Festival
The ARC Music Festival lineup is already live, and we are more than excited. With the slogan ‘House Comes Home,’ the lineup features artists like Armand Van Helden, Carl Cox, X Club, Riordan, Bastian Bux, Avalon Emerson, Elkka, Dom Dolla, and many others.
Who Is Headlining the ARC Festival 2024?
The concept of the ARC Festival is to give everyone an equal chance on the stage. There aren’t headliners in the literal meaning of the term. Still, each act can be considered a headliner, because every artist is equally important for the Chicago EDM scene.
We can say that every artist featured in the lineup can be your personal headliner, as long as you enjoy the experience.
How Much Do the Tickets for the ARC Festival Cost?
For this festival, you have three levels of passes, i.e., festival tickets, including General Admission (GA), Global (VIP), and Icon (VIP+).
Each comes with benefits and privileges. For example, GA gives you priority access to ARC after-dark events, but you need to use the general entrance and pay additionally for the food and drinks.
On the other hand, VIP passes grant you a dedicated entrance and VIP viewing. But if you want an all-inclusive experience, the VIP+ brings all those benefits.
The prices?
- GA passes start at $389 and may go up to $399
- VIP passes start at $649 and may go up to $699
- VIP+ passes have a fixed price of $1399
Note: These prices apply to the 3-day ticket option.
All tickets are officially available on ARC Music Festival website. But if you like our work and you want to support us, you can get your pass though Ticketmaster (affiliate link). If the tickets are already sold and you really want to go to this great music festival, you can always try re-sellers at Vivid Seats. (NOTE: Please be aware that the tickets offered by re-sellers are usually at a higher price.)
Important Information About ARC Music Festival
Let’s now overview the details beyond the lineup and ticket sales. Every potential visitor should know these things:
- The usual location is the Union Park, but this could change in the future
- There is no option for camping on festival grounds, so make sure to find accommodation like hotel or rental
- Public transportation works pretty well since it’s a central city festival
- Sometimes, the festival offers transportation partnerships, so check on the details as the dates get closer
- Parking is very limited, so use public transportation instead or share the ride with more people
- Most EDM festivals, including ARC festival, have an age limit of 18+, but it may vary from one edition to another – so check it on time
- Labor Day weekend in Chicago is usually hot, but as September gets closer, you may need to bring a waterproof jacket or poncho
- The food vendors on festival grounds can be pretty pricey, so feel free to bring some snacks and refillable water bottle
- Wear comfortable shoes and protect your head with a hat
- The festival has security measures, but it’s always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and belongings
- Don’t bring any prohibited items like weapons or illegal substances to the festival’s ground
- Most vendors accept cards, but bring enough cash, just in case
- Stay hydrated because the Labor Day weekend can be pretty hot and exhausting
This information will help any potential ARC festival attendee to plan their stay and make it an enjoyable experience.
ARC Music Festival Videos
If you don’t know what to expect from the upcoming ARC Music Festival, the videos from previous editions will help. We collected the best ones so you can easily find the highlights. This way, you know what to expect in August.
ARC Music Festival Photos
In this section, we provide some photos from the previous editions. Explore the vibrant atmosphere and prepare well because August is closer than you can ever imagine.
ARC Music Festival Reviews
To bring this festival even closer to you, we tried to find some reviews online and summarize them in one section.
“Brimming with high-level production, stellar performances, and captivating art installations throughout the grounds, Arc Music Festival hosted an inspiring and memorable atmosphere all weekend, earning its rank as a leading name in the global scene. Arc, thank you for the non-stop dance parties and stunning summertime Chi vibes.”
Compose Yourself Magazine (about the 2023 edition).
“With all the negativity surrounding so many festivals these days, I want to give a quick shout-out to the Arc House and Techno festival in Chicago this past weekend. Not only was the festival amazing, but the Arc after Dark parties were incredible. Chicago is a beautiful city with a good handle on large crowds to make getting around easy. The lineup was quite staked with a little something for everybody,” says djsonnymac on his Reddit review. Many of the commenters say the festival is flawless, with the best EDM vibes. They’re talking about the 2022 edition.
“This is just the beginning for ARC, and they’re already talking about a grand vision for the future. All I can hope is that they take the sound suggestions into consideration and make the necessary changes so that they can reign strong as one of the best house and techno festivals on the planet.”
says the author Maria Clinton in her 2022 review for EDM Identity.
Yes, the festival is relatively new, and surely there are plenty of things to improve. Still, it doesn’t mean it’s bad – it’s just that some details may not be appealing to each visitor. In general, most of the reviews we found are positive, putting more weight and value on that side.
Previous Years’ ARC Festival Lineups
Exploring the previous editions, we learned that the 2022 and 2023 ARC lineups were pretty exciting. Do you want to get to know this festival better? Let’s explore those lineups:
Participation Lineup for the 2023 ARC Music Festival
The 2023 edition happened from September 1 to September 3, and it featured exciting performances like:
- Black Coffee
- Boris Brejcha
- Peggy Gou
- Fatboy Slim
- Nina Kravitz
- Eric Prydz
- Vintage Culture
- Sara Landry
And many others!
ARC Music Festival 2022 Lineup
The 2022 edition was also in September, from 2nd to 4th, during the Labor Day weekend. Some of the artists from this set appeared in 2023, and will perform during the 2024 event.
Anyway, here’s a part of the great 2022 ARC lineup:
- Adam Beyer
- Carl Cox
- Derrick Carter
- Boris Brejcha
- Carl Craig
- Ann Clue
- Charlotte de Witte
- Honey Dijon
- Gorgon City
- Elrow
And many more!
Similar Festivals to the ARC Music Festival
It’s not that challenging to spot exciting music festivals similar to ARC. There are plenty of EDM festivals around the US, so it won’t be that difficult to spot some great editions like:
- Beyond Wonderland – A festival that has a June Chicago edition with a diverse EDM lineup
- Decadence Arizona – A winter EDM festival held in December
- Escape Halloween – October festival that focuses on EDM and spooky details
Of course, you can extend your search and spot similar festivals to attend in the summer and fall seasons in the US.
