Sound & Gravity returns to Avondale, Bricktown over Labor Day weekend
Locally-run, multi-venue festival Sound & Gravity returns for its second edition over Labor Day weekend. The fest brings together more than 50 artists to perform across seven venues in Chicago’s Avondale and Bricktown neighborhoods Sept. 3-6, featuring genres such as jazz, experimental, contemporary classical and indie.
The venues — Constellation, Hungry Brain, Beat Kitchen, Athenaeum Center, Judson & Moore Distillery, Rockwell on the River and Guild Row — are all located within two miles of one another, promoting a “choose your own adventure” style of festival. Sound & Gravity’s top billing includes psychedelic solo project Grouper, Contre Jour — a performance piece from former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo and experimental artist Leah Singer — post-rock band Son Lux, guitarist Marc Ribot and Ethiopian musician and composer Hailu Mergia. Colombian experimental artist Lucrecia Dalt, multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-winning producer Josh Johnson and Grammy-nominated drummer Kassa Overall are also slated to perform.
Notable local acts on the lineup include trumpeter and bandleader Will Miller’s Resavoir, melancholic soft-rock project Advance Base, underground ensemble Natural Information Society, alternative project Bitchin Bajas, Latin-influenced alt quartet Dos Santos, experimental ensemble microplastique and improvisational trio Twin Talk.
The festival also serves as a fundraiser for nonprofit venue Constellation Performing Arts, which was started by musician Mike Reed in 2013. Reed is also the co-founder of Pitchfork Music Festival, which ran in Chicago for 19 years before calling it quits in 2024. Last year he told WBEZ that the goal of Sound & Gravity isn’t to take Pitchfork’s place, but to support Constellation and other indie music venues.
Tickets are on sale now, with four-day all-event passes starting at $240. Single-day passes start at $85 and Thursday opening night tickets at $50.
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