Photo of Cactus Jack performance at Summer Smash 2024 (left) and Photo of Stevie Nicks performing at Soldier Field (right) The Xavierite
With the new year on the horizon, it is time to look back on five of the many concerts and performances that took Chicago by storm.
- Shaq at North Coast Music Festival
On Aug. 30, DJ Diesel aka Shaquille O’Neal took North Coast to a whole new level. As I walked around with my work camera, I witnessed hundreds of fans running to the stadium stage at SeatGeek Stadium.
It was my first ever time at NCMF, and Shaq honestly made my night. He was quite amusing, yelling at the crowd to make mosh pits. I so badly wanted to get in, just because of him. However, I didn’t have the chance to.
As I watched from a distance on the stadium balcony, I noticed how good he was at interacting with the crowd. On top of that, the sounds matched well with the special effects of the stage. Strobe Lights went crazy, beaming across the crowd.
- Cactus Jack Comes Together at Summer Smash
After constant delays due to traffic, Cactus Jack had come together for the first ever time at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash. It was quite the experience. They were the headliners for the first night, and they played songs that were considered “bangers.”
Some of the tracks played included “Fein” by Travis Scott, and “After Party” by Don Tolliver.
I was able to get into the mosh pits for this, and it was so much fun. Although many fans were disappointed, I certainly was not. It was my first time at the festival, and the night was memorable because of the special effects such as the fire they used.
- Metallica M72 at Soldier Field
Aug. 9 and 11 were two full concerts of just Metallica. Over the course of the days, over thirty widely-recognized songs were performed. Some of these included “Fuel,” “Master of Puppets,” “Enter Sandman,” and many more.
Additionally, the band brought out other acts such as Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills and Mammoth WVH.
After watching videos online of the concert, it is clear that metalheads had an incredible experience.
- Hans Zimmer Live at United Center
Being a sucker for film scores, I could not help but include this on the list. Hans Zimmer’s concerts are notorious for selling out instantly, and once more it did. Due to this, I was not able to attend it.
However, on YouTube I watched videos of every film track played. My regrets became higher than ever. There is just something special about hearing the music of films in front of you, live.
Some of the films that had tracks played were “Man of Steel,” “Dune,” and “Interstellar.”
Not only was the live music stunning, but some tracks like those of “Dune” brought out costumed performers. The lighting design was also phenomenal, and United Center was more like an actual music venue rather than a sports venue.
- Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks at Soldier Field
All my life I was raised with Billy Joel music in the background. This was my first time at one of his concerts, and it was truly something special. What made it even better was that Stevie Nicks was the opening act.
By far, it was the longest concert I had ever been to. It was nearly four and a half hours long, but it was worth every second of it.
My only complaint was that once Nicks was done performing, she hadn’t appeared again onstage with Joel.
However, Joel performed twenty-seven songs, which is mighty impressive. He even performed a few covers of songs, such as “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones.
Overall, this year Chicago had an incredible lineup of artists of all different genres. Cheers to what is to come in 2025.