West Fest: Lava DJ stage

Chicago Ave; Sat 9–Sun 10

“The vibe we’re looking for is a good old-fashioned block party meets street riot,” says Phil McFarland, whose high-design, beat-oriented, boutique bar Lava once again curates the DJ/dance stage at four-year-old outdoor street party West Fest.

The programming on the DJ stage (the only DJ stage at any street jam this summer) is, curiously, tightly formatted—but for a reason. McFarland explains that it’s a matter of flow. “We’ve done more of a mixed format on this before with hip-hop, techno, electro, house, dubstep and drum ’n’ bass all getting played over an afternoon,” he says. “Doing it that way, the party never really got momentum because each sound would get a new audience, and just as they were getting into it…there’d be something totally new on.”

The scheme this year involves dedicating each day to a dance genre and letting the DJs build on a particular style. Saturday goes to the new club-rap sound—which Chicago has latched onto so forcefully—with Klever headlining above local busy bodies Million $ Mano, Rocktapussy (the electro duo of Mother Hubbard and DJ A-Cup), and bounce mechanics Willy Joy and Zebo. Sunday leans toward house with Striz, John Bid Simmons, Diz, Beat Giants and Sound Republic keeping the kick on the one—and Derrick Carter taking over at twilight. That’s quite a weekend.

For more, see West Fest