Hyde Park Summer Fest Set for June 17th and 18th

Hyde Park Summer Fest will take place from June 17-18 at Midway Plaisance. Photo provided by Hyde Park Summer Fest.
Hyde Park Summer Fest will take place from June 17-18 at Midway Plaisance. Photo provided by Hyde Park Summer Fest.

Hyde Park Summer Fest Set for June 17th and 18th

By Tia Carol Jones

The Hyde Park Summer Fest is coming back this summer. The event will take place Saturday-Sunday, June 17th and 18th, at the Midway Plaisance. There were 25,000 people in attendance at last year’s two-day event. It was the first year Hyde Park Summer Fest was a ticketed event.

Jonathan Swain is the founder of the Hyde Park Summer Fest said it was a great success, with a lot of good feedback. That feedback was used to improve this year’s music festival. There will be three stages for more opportunities for up-and-coming and new acts to perform. There also will be more lanes at the entrance to allow people to get in quicker. Also, the VIP Lounge will be upgraded and the area will be expanded.

This Year’s Hyde Park Fest is honoring the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop, with a focus on Chicago’s influence on the genre. "2023 marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Chicago has played a leading role in growing and evolving the genre since its origin half a century ago.   The Hyde Park Summer Fest is proud to celebrate the city’s influence with a once-in-a-lifetime lineup of some of hip-hop’s legendary voices,” Swain said in a release. Clipse, 2 Chainz, Terry Hunter, Grammy Winner Robert Glasper, Grammy nominee Tobe Nwigwe, Jonathan McReynolds and Amapiano performer Uncle Waffles will be performing at this year’s Hyde Park Summer Fest.

“One of the things, we’ve attempted to do with our roster this year, is to diversify the kinds of music that we have. So, for folks who appreciate the different styles of music across the Diaspora, can get that music at the Fest,” Swain said.

Swain said having events like Hyde Park Summer Fest in communities is important because festivals are economic engines and it is important that those economic engines are connected to communities. “We spend our entertainment dollars in a lot of different places, it’s important that we find ways to spend them in economies where those dollars will circulate within those communities,” he said.

For the Hyde Park Summer Fest weekend, there will be around 300 people who will be hired for temporary jobs. That will help money circulate through the community. The vendors on-hand during the festivals will be from the community, which will also circulate money back through the community.

Swain also is hoping that having events in the community will help amplify positive narratives about communities on the South Side of Chicago. It is one of the reasons he started the festival back in 2014, when it was known as the Brew Fest. He wanted to showcase the South Side of Chicago, which he called, “a glorious place that represents the best of Chicago.”

Last year, Hyde Park Summer Fest, in partnership with Bowa Gives, the charitable arm of Bowa Construction, donated $75,000 to Kenwood Academy, Hyde Park Academy, Dyett, King and South Shore High Schools.  Swain said Hyde Park Summer Fest donated that money, it was important to contribute back to the surrounding communities. He added, the business people involved with the festival really believe in giving back to the community. The goal was to provide money to those schools to implement programs they might want to have but might not have the money.

This year, Hyde Park Summer Fest will highlight local nonprofits via its social media pages to showcase those organizations and amplify their work. The festival wants to provide tickets to those organizations. Swain also wants to be able to provide grants to organizations through Hyde Park Summer Fest. “It’s important that these nonprofits that are doing great work, serving our young people, have the dollars to continue their mission. We want to be able to help out where we can,” Swain said.

Swain wants people to come to the event, enjoy the music from talented artists, and connect and reconnect with people. On May 17th, Hyde Park Summer Fest will host a Community Talent Showcase at Promontory. Winners of the showcase will be awarded the opportunity to perform on one of the festival stages on Day 2 of the Hyde Park Summer Fest. Local artists should submit videos of past performances to talent@hydeparksummerfest.com by Friday, May 5th. Winners will be announced on May 25th via Hyde Park Summer Fest’s social media.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.hydeparksummerfest.com.

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