Beyond Wonderland Takes a Trip to Chicago
Watch out, Windy City. There’s a new festival in town! The inaugural Beyond Wonderland Chicago is just on the horizon as June 1st & 2nd are fast approaching. The Alice in Wonderland-themed weekend is the perfect kickoff for Summer! Who better to put it all together than Insomniac and local event producer, Auris?
Insomniac and Auris Teaming Up
Chicago’s healthy and thriving love for electronic music is no secret, so selecting it as the place to host Beyond this year was a no-brainer. Auris has already proven to put on some of the most memorable festivals and shows in the Chicagoland area, including the house-centric ARC Music Festival. In the two years prior, they put on another smaller festival called Heatwave. With no word of Heatwave’s plans, it’s assumed that Beyond will replace the fest.
The new partnership comes with room to grow as the fest expands from three stages to four, including the iconic Huntington Bank Pavillion Amphitheater which was not used during last year’s Heatwave. The historic Northerly Island sits south of the Loop and provides incredible skyline views. Festival goers will also enjoy a view of Lake Michigan as they dance the day away.
Getting to Know the Venue
While Northerly offers a unique setting for this incredible weekend, it can be a bit tricky getting there if you aren’t a local. We highly recommend utilizing the vast Chicago public transport due to limited parking. Should you decide to drive or rideshare, look at the map provided to plan your way there. However, due to the location of Northerly Island, all festival goers should be prepared for a bit of a trek to and from the entrance.
There’s nothing we love more than a festival that listens to its patrons! When the first map of the festival came out, comments asked for more water stations. Insomniac and Auris stepped up to the plate and added more to the map to please the Headliners. With multiple brand activations and photo ops, there is plenty to see on your way to the next set. Thankfully, the grounds aren’t overwhelming making getting from stage to stage slightly less daunting.
Planning Your Day
As is par with the course for Insomniac events, the lineup for Beyond Wonderland Chicago has a bit of something for everyone. With nostalgic crowd-pleasers like Tiesto, Benny Benassi, and Kaskade to bass music heavy hitters like Svdden Death and Rezz, there is no shortage of variety. There is plenty of opportunity to branch out into other genres. Techno-spinning Eli Brown, vibey Daily Bread, and DNB superstar Dimension among others. Beyond provides the perfect setting to try something new.
Welcome to the Afterparty
With the city ordinance stopping the music promptly at 11, you may want more. Thankfully, Auris owns several venues throughout the city to host afterparties! Radius and Cermak Hall will host names like Alesso and RL Grime to keep the energy going. Chris Lorenzo will be throwing heat at Spybar, and Claptone will turn up the heat at Prysm. Auris will hold several other afterparties around Chicago. You can check them all out here.
We hope you’re excited for a fun-packed weekend in Chicago. We know we are! Temperatures should hit the mid-70s with the possibility of some showers on Saturday. That won’t stop the event though as Insomniac productions are rain or shine. Don’t be late, it’s time to fall down the rabbit hole at Beyond Wonderland Chicago!