As the chilly, winter weather of the Midwest takes a turn for the better, what better way to kick off festival season than with Spring Awakening Music Festival? SAMF is an annual event, held at the heart of the bustling city of Chicago.

As one of the biggest EDM festival held in the Midwest area, SAMF - hosted by React Presents-  takes place June 8th - 10th at the beautiful Addams/Medill Park. This annual festival features two massive mainstages - the Solstice and Equinox stages. This year’s lineup is coming in full force with stacked artists and headliners such as: Hardwell, Kaskade, Tiesto, Seven Lions, Deadmau5, Zeds Dead, Alison Wonderland, Virtual Self, and many more.

Photo credit: Spring Awakening Music Festival Facebook

In addition to the two iconic stages, this year is also showcasing several branded stages daily, such as Bass Kitchen, DJ Mag, Heldeep, Requiem, Sunday School and Trance Arena. Each of these branded stages will spotlight artists from all different genres of EDM that will satisfy the music taste of any raver. There’s everything from headbangin’ bass to uplifting trance and everything in between.

Spring Awakening Music Festival 2017 was the first festival I personally attended. From my experience last year, the festival crowd was so welcoming that I could easily walk into the crowd of any stage and dance with everyone around me and trade kandi. With average temperatures sitting around 80-90° F and loads of sunshine during the daytime, it’s the perfect weather to show off your rave outfits!

In the past, SAMF has offered a Ferris wheel and other carnival rides that are a great way to take a break from the sun and crowd. There have also been tons of delicious (and reasonably priced) food vendors presented at SAMF. If you want to fully immerse yourself in the music, you can make a visit to the reinvented Silent Disco, “STFU!” presented by Monaco and hear the talents of DJs on the rise.

Last year, the SAMF crowd was the very crowd that drew me into the rave community, as well as expose me to so many different genres of EDM with all the diversity SAMF has to offer. I can truly say that the weekend I spent there had completely changed my life and introduced me to a community full of welcoming ravers passionate about the same music as me.

This year, you will probably catch me at the Trance Arena stage, jamming out to my favorite trance artists, as well as seeing the exciting headliners such as Kaskade, deadmau5, Virtual Self, Slander, NGHTMRE, and much more! A weekend full of some of the best EDM artists, summer vibes, and a great view of the city of Chicago, there's no better way to spend a weekend than at Spring Awakening Music Festival!

Get your Spring Awakening 2018 tickets before they sell out! Single Day and 3-Day GA and VIP tickets are still available.