There are over 200 neighborhoods in the city of Chicago, making it a city full of diversity. It is only fitting that a music festival held at Addams-Medill Park has a lineup packed with variety.
React Presents revealed the first phase of the sixth-annual Spring Awakening music festival on Feb. 15. Among the artists announced were Diplo, Marshmello, Excision, Louis the Child, Armin Van Buuren, Die Antwoord, Datsik and more.
This phase one announcement promises a diverse attendance from fans from Chicago and across the nation. While attending Spring Awakening, there will be a variety of people you may encounter during each set.
“Mellogang”, fans of EDM producer and DJ Marshmello, will be easy to recognize. Many Mellogang members re-create the DJ’s infamous marshmallow-shaped helmet. Another sure-fire way to recognize a member of the Mellogang is by the Marshmello logo plastered across a snapback or t-shirt. Running into Mellogang during Spring Awakening will likely result in laughter, smiles and dancing.
Hailing from South Africa, rap-rave group Die Antwoord, has an image based on a counterculture movement known as Zef. According to an interview with film director, Damien Lay, when asked what “zef” means, one half of Die Antwoord, Ninja, said, “That you literally don’t care what anyone else thinks of you; like, you represent yourself in your music, in how you dress, in how you think, how you speak”. Die Antwoord has a fan-base as diverse as their music. Recognizing fans of Die Antwoord can prove to be a little more difficult. It could be anyone from the typical snapback, tank-top, wayfarer sunglasses clad “bro”, to girls rocking half-shaved hairstyles; basically anyone who looks like they could care less what you think of them.
Grant Kwiecinski, better known by his stage name Griz, was also amongst the artists announced. Griz fans can usually been seen wearing your typical “hippie” fashion such as Third Eye Pinecone pendants, Grassroots California hats and Pashmina scarves. Meeting fans of Griz may result in getting down to funky beats and being asked to trade pins.
These are only a handful of people one might stumble upon. Whoever you run into at Spring Awakening will be sure to make the festival experience one to remember.
