Chicago-based metalheads have a new festival to look forward to, with the inaugural Heavy Chicago fest set to take place across two weekends on October 28th and November 4th and 5th at the Avondale Music Hall.
The first night (October 28th) will be headlined by hometown heroes and cult doom legends Trouble, who will make their live return after a five-year hiatus. They’ll be joined on the bill by Acid King, Bongzilla, and Chicago locals Novembers Doom.
The festival then picks up a week later on Saturday, November 4th, with hardcore-turned-stoner-metal vets Corrosion of Conformity headlining a bill including Cali space rockers Nebula and The Crosses featuring Die Kreuzen singer Dan Kubinski (playing an “all Die Kreuzen” set).
The final evening (November 5th) is perhaps the most stacked, with D.R.I. performing their genre-defining Crossover LP in its entirety and death-metal pioneers Repulsion making their only live appearance of 2023. Chicago-based acts Macabre and The Suffering round out that day.
A pre-sale for passes begins Friday (June 23rd) and will remain active for 24 hours via the Heavy Chicago festival website. Options include limited three-day passes for $100, two-day passes for November 4th and 5th for $80, and a special “24 hour only” pre-sale two-day pass for October 28th and November 4th for $70. Single-night tickets will be available soon, and range from $35 to $45 each.
“We are so excited to be partnering with Live Wire, Kuma’s, and Pabst Blue Ribbon to bring a brand-new metal festival to Chicago, hosted in the city’s newest music venue, Avondale Music Hall,” stated Sean Duffy of promoter Last Rites. “We look forward to seeing everyone in the inaugural year in what we hope is an annual event.”
You can see the full lineup poster for Heavy Chicago below.