Navy Pier is paying homage to Chicago’s longstanding history of soul music with the inaugural Chi-Soul Fest, a free, four-day music festival, kicking off on Wednesday, June 27. Jammed-packed with talented intergenerational artists, the festival honors and celebrates Black Music Appreciation Month and pays musical tributes to the city’s soulful roots, with a nod to the genre’s past, present and future.
In the 1960s and 70s, Chicago’s own Record Row on South Michigan Avenue featured classic recordings from artists, such as The Dells, Curtis Mayfield, Etta James, Donny Hathaway, Herbie Hancock, Earth Wind and Fire and many more. Today, the legacy of soul still echoes throughout Chicago’s current musical landscape, and Navy Pier is putting it on showcase viaChi-Soul Fest.
See below for the full Chi-Soul Festival schedule:
Wednesday, June 27
| 5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. | The Will Tilson Band | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
| 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. | Theo Huff | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
Thursday, June 28
| 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Reclaimed Soul with Ayana Contreras Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
Friday, June 29
| 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | The Right Now | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
| 6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. | Dee Alexander Quartet: Tribune to Curtis Mayfield | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Syleena Johnson | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 9 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. | Isaiah Sharkey | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
Saturday, June 30
| 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Duane Powell | Wave Wall Performance Platform |
| 2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | The Congregation | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
| 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Christian Jalon Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 4:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. | Shawnee Dez Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Sam Trump | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
| 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. | Akenya Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. | Kaina Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Brandon Markell Holmes Co-curated by Vocalo 91.1 FM | Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park |
| 9 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. | JC Brooks Band | Miller Lite Beer Garden |
Get a jumpstart on the festivities on Monday, June 25 at Water Flicks, Navy Pier’s free, weekly summer film series at the Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park at 7 p.m. In honor of Chi-Soul Fest, the Pier will be showing Get on Up, a chronical of soul music legend James Brown. Free popcorn, courtesy of Navy Pier IMAX at AMC, is available to guests on a first-come, first-served basis.
While at Navy Pier for Chi-Soul Fest, guests are encouraged to take advantage of the many other Pier-wide experiences in dining, retail, boats and other activities and attractions – many of which are available within the newly renovated Fifth Third Bank Family Pavilion, which opened Memorial Day weekend.
Chi-Soul Fest is part of the Pier’s ongoing commitment to offer guests free, one-of-a kind arts and culture programming, designed to inspire, educate and connect communities and guests across the city and globe. For more information, visit www.navypier.org or download the Navy Pier app on any Android or iOS device.
