First-Ever Heavy Chicago Festival to Feature Corrosion of Conformity, Trouble, Acid King and More

2023-06-23

Heavy Chicago Festival will feature a performance by Corrosion of Conformity – Story by Anne Erickson, photo by Dean Karr

Heavy Chicago Festival will bring longstanding metal acts to downtown Chicago

Chicago has long been known to have a fantastic metal scene, so it’s appropriate that the city is getting its own heavy music festival. The first-ever Heavy Chicago festival is scheduled to happen over two weekends on Oct. 28 and November 4 and 5 at the Avondale Music Hall in downtown.

The first evening of the festival (Oct. 28) will welcome cult doom band and Chicago natives Trouble. The show is extra special, as it will mark their first time performing live in five years. Joining them for the Oct. 28 show will be Acid King, Bongzilla and fellow Chicago metal band Novembers Doom.

Then, the festival will continue on Nov. 4 with a band that needs no introduction: stoner metal legends Corrosion of Conformity. Also, other acts performing on Nov. 4 include Nebula and The Crosses featuring Die Kreuzen singer Dan Kubinski, performing an “all Die Kreuzen” set.

The last night of the event happens Nov. 5. That evening features a headlining performance from headliners D.R.I., performing their seminal “Crossover” LP from front to pack, as well as death metal band Repulsion for their only live appearance of 2023. Chicago metal bands Macabre and The Suffering will also appear on the bill that day.

“We are so excited to be partnering with Live Wire, Kuma’s, and Pabst Blue Ribbon to bring a brand-new metal festival to Chicago, hosted in the city’s newest music venue, Avondale Music Hall,” Sean Duffy of promoter Last Rites said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing everyone in the inaugural year in what we hope is an annual event.”

A pre-sale for passes starts Friday (June 23) and will remain active for 24 hours on the Heavy Chicago festival website. Ticket options include limited three-day passes for $100, two-day passes for Nov. 4 and 5 for $80, as well as a “24-hour only” pre-sale two-day pass for Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 for $70. Single-night tickets, according to the festival, will be available soon. Those will run from $35 to $45. For more metal fun, check out our list of the 10 greatest extreme metal albums of all time here.

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.