All About ARC Music Festival | Set Recommendations, Afters, What I'm Bringing, Food and Travel Tips - #15

Olivia: What's up guys? Today I am doing an episode all about ARC Music Festival because it is so soon and I've seen a lot of questions, kind of like the same questions being answered in the different Facebook groups and online communities I'm part of. So I've been to ARC two years in a row, every year since its inception. And I'm a native Chicagoan, so I thought it might be a good idea to answer. some of those logistical questions, but then also kind of just questions about like the vibe of the festival. So this festival is like the best festival I've ever been to, and I'm not just saying that because I'm from Chicago. It is an older, more mature crowd. It celebrates the fact that Chicago is literally the beating heart of house music. And even Fatboy Slim himself said that this is one of the most important festivals to come about in many, many years. The past two years that I've been have been so incredible. And I know the team has been working really hard to make it an even better experience, though I don't even know how it could be any better. But they've been working really hard on making even more improvements. And so I'm really excited to see how it's progressed. I also started the first year. which was in 2021 in GA. And then I did the mid-tier VIP last year. And then this year I sprung for ICON, which is like the top tier VIP. So I'm just really excited to have that experience because I think it's just gonna be a lot easier with all the food and beverage kind of included. Obviously like you're prepaying for it, it's not free per se, but it's all included. And so I just think that's gonna make the flow of the weekend go a lot smoother. So. I want to pull up my notes because I took a lot of them to make sure that I answered all the, especially the logistical questions that I was seeing, like about transportation, food options, because I actually used to live right near Union Park, recently moved, but I lived by there for a long time. So I kind of have, you know, like insider intel, I guess. So one of the first things I... want to talk about is transportation because I've been seeing a lot of people ask if they should take Uber or you know take public transportation. It's an age-old question. It depends if you want to pay for convenience or not. I will say there's a lot of misconceptions about Chicago public transportation. You know it's a big city and like any big city you need to be alert and aware of your surroundings. but it's safe. I took Chicago public transportation for a very long time every single day until I started working from home and never had any problems. What's really great is that Google Maps, Apple Maps, whatever map system you use is really good about updating the different routes you can take. So they'll like give you a couple of different options, whether you should walk to a certain stop and then hop on a certain line, if you need to do any transfers. So... I would say that, you know, the day of, like that's when you could have the best laid plan like for transportation ahead of time, but then a line could be down or there could be delays. So I would just say keep checking the Google Maps or Apple Maps the day of, and that's how you'll figure out the best way to get to the festival. And the good news is there's the green line Ashland stop like right across from the festival. And I'm actually for anybody watching, I'm going to share my screen so you guys can see. Let me pull this up. Um, hold on. There is, uh, where is this? No, that's the festival map. Here we go. So if you guys can see this, the green line and pink line Ashland stop is right here. And this is super, super close to the, to Union Park. It's like literally right across the street. And so all of these lines connect to the green line in the loop here. So if you're staying on the north side, if you're staying, pretty much anywhere in the city, you are gonna be able to take a train to this festival. So going back to my notes, if you do wanna take an Uber, it can get pretty chaotic, like around the immediate festival area. So one of my suggestions is to plug in something like that's... close to the festival. So I'm gonna show you guys too. I'm gonna share my screen again and show you guys a couple of different options. Really you have tons of options right nearby where you can plug in. So check this out. So I just put in one restaurant that I know of called Kaiser Tiger. If you're coming from like downtown or an Airbnb, you can just put any of these like restaurants near the festival as your destination and then just walk. because it probably won't, the prices won't surge as much and it'll just be easier to get to. And then you can again, put like in Google Maps or Apple Maps for walking from this place. So there's Kaiser Tiger, there's like Bambala, Wolf Point Distilling, pretty much anything that's, Chicago Philly stop, anything that's like around, like within a five minute walk or less. And I just think that's really gonna help you when it comes to. not getting those surge prices. I'll talk about transportation for the afters in a little bit because afters kind of deserves its whole section. But so that's transportation. For food, if you have icon, like I said, everything is included. It's nice. You don't have to worry about planning your day. You can kind of just like graze throughout the day if you want because you're not spending like a whole bunch of money like, you know, the same or like taxes or whatever over and over again. But if you're someone who doesn't really like to eat at festivals or you know, you want like the full Chicago experience, I have a couple of recommendations, but keep in mind like when I give recommendations, they tend to be healthier because I just enjoy eating healthy food. And then I also think that's really important for on long festival days, weekends, like you need to fuel your body with nutrients and that especially when you're over 30, like that keeps you, you know, alive. for the festival. So quick food that's really delicious. Like I wish they would sponsor me so bad. Goddess and the Grocer, I eat there three times a week, four times a week. It's like really healthy sandwiches, wraps, soup, salads, but they're all delicious. Like they have like a fried chicken sandwich on there, but it's like the top tier fried chicken sandwich. They have, you know, like wraps with cold cuts, but all the ingredients are just really fresh and like. It's super reasonably priced and it's super, there's one super close to the West Loop or in the West Loop by the festival. There's a couple of different locations, like you could walk there and then walk to the festival. You're going to find a ton of options on that street actually by Goddess and the Grocer on Randolph Street or Fulton Street. It's Fulton Street or Fulton Market Street. That's like the area closest to the festival where there's tons of bars, restaurants, you know, anything like on those streets are fair game and walking distance. You can find anything from barbecue to healthier options to Italian to Indian. So it's a really hot area if you're not from Chicago. Just keep in mind, Chicago does not have a lot of late food night options. There's a new bodega, if you know that franchise, out of Miami in the West Loop, like on Randolph or Fulton. But that's one of the only places we severely lack, like good quality late night spots, except for like fast food. Bar Sienna is good. I forgot to mention that. Green Street, smoked meats. Just walk around there, you'll find something. And if you're staying in a hotel down in the like city city, like River North area, I would recommend, off the top of my head, Arbella Tanta. Those are my two favorite restaurants downtown. Cortino is really good. That's Italian. Um avli that's greek and untitled which is like a fun experience But it's kind of like a place where you go for the whole experience. So those places are more like sit down Um, but just if you're visiting, you know, and you want to do some different things So, okay. So let's talk about how to plan your day at different stages This is a question I saw from people who haven't been before they weren't sure like how big Um the park is and this is what I love about arc is it's so easy to navigate and to bounce around. So you'll get the lay of the land like fairly quickly. I'll share my screen again so you guys can see last year's map. I don't believe like they're planning on changing anything too drastically because there's just not really room. But as you guys can see, the four stages like are all very close to one another. And I think I looked this up, it's 14 acres, which is, I don't remember how many football fields. I have to look at my notes. But the park is not big at all. And a lot of it is like, you know, covered by trees. So you really have like a condensed area and there's no like sound bleed either. They've done a really good job at doing that. So the four stages are the main stage, which is grid, expansions, the Elrow tent, and then the Arc bus, which I heard they're doing different this year. It's going to be a little bit different experience. So this is not an EDC situation where you're going to be walking for miles. Like your legs are killing you just getting in between sets. So if there's a couple artists at the same time you want to see, you're going to be able to do that. Um, Oh, 14 acres is like 11 football fields. So think of it that way. And then think of it as an even smaller area, square mileage or whatever than that, because the stages take up spaces, whatever. So you're not, you're not walking too far. Um, okay. So here's how I'm gonna be planning my days. On Friday, first of all, let me pull up the set times because they released the set times early this year and I just was super, super appreciative of that. I, for my own like ADHD brain, like I need to be able to see things well in advance so I can plan. So on Friday, I am definitely, definitely going to be checking out Adam Bayer. I hope to get there soon enough for Sam Divine, but it kind of just depends on my husband's schedule and whatever. So Adam Bayer, I'm going to be checking out. Boris Brejcha, it'll be like the sixth time I've seen him in two years, which is amazing. And then Hollow too. I mean, I'm so excited to see how they do that, especially outside. I might try to head over to expansions for a hot second to see Nina Kravitz. I have not been able to see her before, so I'm super excited about that. I will be seeing Anfisa Letyago, which I hope I'm saying her name right for afters that day, which I'm stoked for. On Saturday, I definitely want to catch Eli Brown. I saw him for the first time at Prysm a couple months ago. It was fantastic. Love Patrick Topping. And I love that he's at the grid this year. I'll say something about Elrow in a second. I love Elrow, but for me, like the crowd was a lot, not the crowd, but the space, like the actual surface area of the tent was difficult for some old fart like me. And then I wanna see Fatboy Slim. I love all of the people closing out the festival Saturday. However, I feel like the energy is gonna be very chaotic. And that is why I get VIP tickets. So I can go sit by myself somewhere and relax when I need like a moment. And I feel like Saturday night is gonna have like, it's gonna be a lot of energy. Let's just put it that way. This B3B is insane by the way, like how interesting Fisher, Loco Dice and Nick Fanciulli. I love Nick Fanciulli. Okay, and then Sunday. Kevin DeVries, stoked about that. Gonna see him in the afters on Sunday as well. Stoked about that. Okay. Ame is how you say the word in French, if I'm not mistaken, but I read somewhere that they go by it's arm. So don't quote me on that. Probably embarrassing myself, but super stoked about that B2B. Peggy Gou, my queen, the love of my life, everything. I'm, I cannot believe she's playing arc. I am ecstatic about that. And to go right into Tale of Us, that's insane. I feel like I've been focusing a lot on the grid. That's just coincidental this year. Last year I bounced around a lot, but I love Black Coffee. I mean, Wade, there's just, like I said, it's easy to bounce around, thankfully, and get between the different stages, which I wanna talk about kind of like the vibe of each stage too. Let me go back to my notes to make sure I'm not missing anything. Oh, this is what I wanted to say. If you're having trouble deciding how to bounce around, I will say that based on the past two years experience, the Elrow tent and expansions, which is like the furthest stage kind of from everything do get the most crowded simply. because it's how the park is laid out. Like there's like kind of like a sightline issue at expansions if you're in GA, where there's some trees that cut off. So like people kind of like, you can't necessarily see the stage from everywhere. And then Elrow, I don't know if they're planning on doing, this is the comment I wanted to make, I don't know if they're planning on doing anything to make the tent bigger this year, but it gets really tight. So if you wanna bounce around, I would say just be aware of those two things so you know like, Okay, if I want to see a DJ at Elrow slash expansions and the grid, I'm gonna have an easier time having a sight line at the grid. So maybe I should do, you know, this other one first so I can get a better spot. That's just my advice. And you know, the Elrow has been so much fun both years, but for me, it was just a lot. And I think maybe it's a post COVID thing. Maybe it's just cause I'm in my thirties now, but I really don't like being shoulder to shoulder. with a lot of people. So that's the tent. That's the stage that I tend to not be at the most. Even if there's an artist I want to see and that's not like anyone's fault. It's just my preference. I do want to talk about some sets earlier in the day that are can't miss because there's so many incredible artists. And what I tried to do was any artists that were playing earlier in the day. that I might not be able to make it to for one reason or another, I made sure that I got the afters so I could see them there. So starting strong with Eskuche, he's in the Elrow tent on Friday. He's like the king of Elrow. He plays there all the time. I'm luckily seeing him at the yacht party on Monday, which is like one of their, it's like their closing out party. So I'm super stoked about that. He's playing Friday and Saturday in the Elrow tent. And speaking of Saturday... Infinity and DJ Lady D are can't miss sets. They are like Chicago staples and DJ Lady D has literally been named like Chicago's house music queen by the Chicago magazine. So Infinity is very closely integrated with the development and planning of Ark. He is a fantastic talent, so I definitely recommend seeing him as well. And then on Sunday, Kevin Knapp. is a must see in the Elrow tent. He's opening it up. I saw him doing direct support for Lee Foss and it's one of the most fun shows I've ever been to. So I love him. I think I shazam his entire set when I saw him. And if you're coming from out of town and this is your first arc, I highly recommend just getting the full experience, going there all day, doing what you can. You know, it's... really truly such a special experience and you want to be able to soak it all in. And it doesn't end that late either. So, you know, it's, it is a full day, but it's manageable. Okay. So now let's talk about what to bring because I got a lot of questions on my TikTok when I was doing like a get ready with me for different outfits about what the weather is like. And that's just such a funny question because we all know Chicago weather is chaotic and So I do travel light, but I do have a couple of essentials. And I always like do like a cross body bag that can be locked. The one I use, and again, this is not sponsored, but what I use is Pacsafe and like the zippers locked together, but you don't like, Ark is that one place you don't have to worry about your valuables being taken from you. I mean, anything can happen anywhere, but I've never felt safer than at. But if you're taking the train or something like that, obviously large swaths of people, you need to be careful. So the festival is cash-free. I don't even bother bringing my debit card. I just Apple pay everything. So in my bag, it's just my phone, my earplugs, my chapstick, my sunglasses. And I'm going to make a couple of other suggestions based on my experience. You can take them or leave them. The first is... bringing a couple of squares of toilet paper, especially if you're in GA. I don't know if this is something that a lot of people do, and maybe I was late to the game later in life, but even in VIP, there was like a couple of times where the bathrooms weren't stocked, but they were really good about restocking them. It doesn't hurt to like roll up some toilet paper and just put it in your bag. I mean, it has multiple uses, right? Like, I don't know, you gotta like wipe dust out of your eyes, whatever. Um, second is travel bug spray. Like they make them in like almost like this size, like really tiny. I, the only time I had issues with mosquitoes was at the Elro or no, the expansions like VIP area cause it was under this large tree and I was getting lit up and I ran to a bartender. I was like, please, I will literally pay you if you have bug spray. And he did, and I just like handed him a 20. I'm like, you just saved my life. So now I know. that I need to bring bug spray for the next one, because that was, I'm so allergic to mosquitoes. So Chicago's weather can change on a dime. It can go from like scorching hot to cold and rainy, but the weather the past couple of years, it's always been like a couple of days of like really nice weather and then one day of rain, that's just how it goes. But it's not uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold, because it's September in Chicago, it's like... The weather's becoming more mild. So if anything, like a poncho would be good to have on hand if you see rain in the forecast, but you're gonna be pretty comfortable. I do wanna say, and this is like just nature of being outside, I had problems with my contact lenses last year, dust getting trapped behind them. that's just I have sensitive eyes and it almost prevented me from being able to go to day three last year because it hurts so bad. But then it rained on day three. Like I got it together, it rained and it kind of like packed down the dust and dirt so I was fine. So if you wear contacts, like it's dusty just like anywhere else, any other festival, so just keep your sunglasses on. And you know, the good news is like you're in the middle of a major city and so there's a Walgreens like in any direction that you walk. So if you need something, you're gonna be able to find it there. You're not like camping out in the middle of the woods. Okay, I wanna shift gears to talking about a topic that is very important to me when it comes to festivals. And I feel like I'm gonna get on my soap box here a little bit, but just humor me for a second. A lot of times at festivals, you see really big groups walking around and there's like 15 of them and they're like snaking their way through a crowd and. That's just not my vibe in general, but I understand people like want to stay with their group for safety reasons or it's a group experience. Like you get to like go experience this awesome thing with your friends. I get it. You know, and I have friends that do this too. But one thing I want to say is at these festivals, especially ARC, a lot of these artists don't necessarily come to the United States very often, let alone Chicago. And so, If your friends want to go somewhere or they don't want to go somewhere and you want to go see another artist, you can and should do that at this festival. Like I said, I've never felt safer at any festival or venue than I have at Arc. There's staff everywhere. Everyone's so friendly. Everyone's so mature. Nobody's like super like crazy, like fucked up. And you know, there's a lot of like activations and statues in places that you could set. as meeting points. So if you tell your friends, I'm going to go see this artist, like, let's meet here on the hour or on the half hour. Like if you're worried about not having cell service, that's a really great way to do that. Um, there's just, the lineup is so incredible and I would hate for people to miss something that they really want to see just because their friends don't want to go. And like, you know, people get nervous about, Oh, I don't want people to see me dancing by myself. And like, they'll think I'm weird. And it's like, Nobody's paying attention to that. Everybody's having a good time. Nobody's like looking at you and thinking like, oh my God, why is this person by themselves? They're probably like respect, like mad respect for going off from the group and doing your own thing because you love this artist. That'll probably help you connect with people more. You know, you can always wear like, what I always see is like people will wear like clothing from their city or whatever. And that's like a really great way to connect with people. So I'll get off my soap box, but I wanted to mention that because it's just so important to be able to maximize. Like half of the fun and festivals is being with people and connecting with others, but like don't just go with the group because you feel like you have to. Like definitely this is your experience too and you should make it how you want it. Okay, so I guess I'm like taking a half step off my soapbox because this is next topic is still a little bit preachy, but this is definitely like... my wheelhouse, what I love to talk about, and that is how to like have a sustainable weekend where you make it to the afters, like you actually make it. So first, like some logistical things to get out of the way. I've never actually made it to all three nights of afters. I intended to last year and then we sold our, I think it was Prins that we sold at the last minute because I was so tired and some rude people destroyed my house and so I just wanted to clean it. That's an aside. So this year I'm doing, and Fiza let Yago on Friday, Saturday I'm chilling, and then Sunday I'm doing Tale of Us, and then Monday we're doing that yacht party with Gene Ferris, Escuchay, it's gonna be fantastic. So a couple of quick tips, and then I wanna talk about how you can make it through the weekend. Do not lollygag after the festival. Don't think you have all the time in the world to make it to afters. Get there as soon as you can, because last year... Some people were a little upset that they missed Boris Brejcha because I guess he played, I caught him at the beginning of his set, but he didn't play for very long and he played earlier than people thought. And so people were really bummed about that. So you don't know what could happen. You don't know if these artists have somewhere else they need to be. So this is not like a typical club set where you expect the headliner to go on at 2 a.m. or later. Just get there. Like, don't mess around. They've also expanded their... afters locations this year, which was really awesome. And they even put a really helpful map on their Instagram, which shows the distance between like the different afters locations and the festival. The locations are pretty spread out. They're all the way from the North side of Chicago, like Metro Smart Bar down to Pilsen. So if there was ever a time to Uber to the festival, especially if you're not familiar with Chicago public transportation, I would say this is the time, like save your money for Ubers for this time. But again, walk down Randolph Street, walk far away from the festival, get away from the crowds. A lot of people are going to be doing that, but just get as far as you can. Don't accept a ride from anybody who says they're a taxi. There's been a lot of that going on at, I guess, the Brooklyn Mirage. I haven't seen it as much here in Chicago a little bit, but I'm sure as this festival increases in popularity, I mean, sketch balls follow the crowd. So you can plug in any of those restaurants. my like that I mentioned earlier, plug those into your phone, walk like 10, 15 minutes and then call an Uber from there because you probably like will have much better luck actually getting a car, there won't be surge prices, all that good stuff. Okay, so I wanna talk about making it through the weekend and actually being able to attend everything because there are a lot of things that I do. And by the way, I talk about all of this at length on my TikTok. So if you're into that sort of thing, like you need some, you know, tips for being older and wanting to party, I put that on my TikTok. Okay, so here's a couple of things that I do festival weekend to make sure that I can make it to afters and not, you know, die. I deep clean my house or have a cleaning service come before the festival and typically after, if I have people over, which is not happening ever again. Anyway. Um, I lay out my PJs every single day before I go to the festival so that they're like ready for me by my bed, ready to change. Um, I also sometimes bring makeup wipes with me and I start taking my makeup off on the way home from afters. Uh, I pack a change of clothes for the afters, unless I'm going home first, which sometimes I do like I'll change into slightly comfier clothes. So I just start like kind of winding down. Um, because if I'm already uncomfortable, cause like festival clothes aren't comfortable, so I'm already uncomfortable. And then I'm going to afters. I might just like really just be done. You know what I mean? I'm like tapped out like a toddler who's just been up for too long. That's me. Um, so I make sure I'm eating whole foods, nutritious foods every single day. Like, especially for people out of town, you might want to try Chicago pizza, whatever. That's fine. But like, get some nutrients in one way or another, because that's just like going to provide energy, natural energy to your body, you know, and drink water so you're not cramping up. Like these are all things we have to do when we're in our thirties or older. And people are going to come for me and be like, Oh, I'm 50 and I'm like going strong. That's fine. Good for you. I just, I want to feel good. Like I don't want to be like running on fumes. You know what I mean? Um, so another thing that I do that I feel like this is like kind of, I don't know. Other people might do this. Another thing that I do is I put on relaxing music when I get home to go to bed, or like one of my meditation apps that just has like rainforest sounds or like any sort of piano. Because after a festival or a show, my brain is like, I can still hear the bass in my brain and the music and there's just like, you just saw so many cool things, you heard so much good music and I need something to help me like transition it to wind down. So I do that. Um, and then just like, you know, showering before you go to bed, if you don't do that, like, ill, what are you doing? Um, and then also I don't pregame. So, you know, you're going to a festival, you're going to be, you know, having some beverages, whatever there, and then you're going to afters. And so I just don't feel the need to pregame. Um, I drink mocktails. I'm a big mocktail girly. So I kind of bounced around, but those are all things that I do to be able to sustain the weekend. And even so, like I still get pretty tired, you know, but it's worth it. It's like, I do as much relaxing as I can leading up to the weekend of a festival so that I can conserve all that energy, you know, and use it for that. So again, if you want more content like that, head to my TikTok. I post plenty of tips on my Instagram too. My handle is... My name, Olivia Mancuso with two underscores. So be sure to check that out. And if you have any questions, something I didn't cover, either leave them in the YouTube comments or send me a DM if you're listening to the audio version. There's a sense of pride in being from Chicago and going to this festival for the two years it's been running and I never plan on missing it in the future. So. Send me your questions, drop me your comments, and let me know if you're going to ARC because I would love to meet you all. I'm so excited to meet fellow house and techno people. It's just really special to have this community. So I'm also taking a break next week from posting a podcast because I'm just gonna be bringing you so much festival content. So stay tuned for those live updates and then I will see you the week after that. Have a great day.