Spring Awakening 2015 Preview: 3 "Don't Miss" Sets

Summertime in Chicago is just about here, so you know what that means, right? MUSIC FESTIVAL SEASON! Is it just me, or does Chicago host more music festivals than any other city in the world? Seeing that I rarely go outside the city limits, I'm going to go ahead and say the answer to that question is YES!

The gateway to the summer festival season in Chicago for the past few years has been the EDM extravaganza, Spring Awakening, held at Soldier Field, and this year is no different. Spring Awakening is back and bigger than ever. The line-up features a "who's who" of the EDM world. Diplo, Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Afrojack...you name it, Spring Awakening's got it!

Spring Awakening 2015 is a three-day smorgasbord of electronica,from June 12-14, with different headliners closing the show each night. Even the newbiest (word?) of EDM fans know to stick around for the Midwest debut of Jack U (Diplo and Skrillex's super group), but what deeper sets should an EDM virgin check out? That's where the mighty QB comes in to help.

Here are 3 non-headlining sets, 1 from each day, that if you truly call yourself an EDM fan, you'll stick around for. You're welcome.

Friday June 12th: M.O.B.

This young Scot seems to love his 90s hip-hop, and loves to incorporate it into his sound. His mastery of the drum machine is almost hypnotic at times. I'm a sucker 90s hip-hop and hypnotic drums. I will be front and center for M.O.B.'s set on Friday. Enjoy this re-work of Mobb Deep's classic, Shook Ones Pt. II.

Saturday June 13th: Grandtheft

Just forget that Canada cursed us with Bieber. Give our up-north neighbors a break and praise them for sharing Grandtheft with us. His manipulation of tempo is masterful. Will he speed it up or slow it down? No one knows. Not even him half the time, in my opinion, but he always seems to make the right choice. He's slowly making a name for himself in the EDM world, scoring collaborations with some of the industry's biggest names. Check out this BBHMM touch up Grandtheft worked on with Diplo.




Sunday June 14th: Derrick Carter

This man needs no introduction. A Chicago house legend! If you call yourself a Chicagoan and house connoisseur, and you haven't heard a Derrick Carter house set at least once in your life, you might need to re-evaluate some things. Fear not though, redemption comes at Spring Awakening 2015. Please, do yourself a favor, and go see this man's set. It might change your life. Here's a sample set of Mr. Carter's that gives you a small taste of his dopeness. Enjoy, and I'll see you in 9 days!