Stage Buzz: Heavy Chicago Fest November 1, 2 and 3
By Kelley Simms
Heavy Chicago returns to Avondale Music Hall in this weekend for a second consecutive year. Last year’s festival was considered a rousing success, and this year’s fest is already living up to its prestige. A fantastic lineup is scheduled for three sweat-inducing days beginning this Friday, Nov. 1, and ending on Sunday, Nov. 3.
Promotors Dave Hornyak (owner of Live Wire Lounge) and Sean Duffy (owner of Last Rites Productions/Events) were pleased with last year’s festival turnout and the undying support of the Chicago heavy metal community. “I think our biggest takeaway from last year was that all the fans and all the bands had fun,” Duffy says enthusiastically. “The vibe was really cool and awesome; like a lot of UE and UK fests I have been to. We don’t want (Heavy Chicago) to be “just another gig” on your list.”
According to Duffy, preparations for curating this year’s lineup began immediately after last year’s festival ended. “Dave and I both book the fest. Dave has been more concentrated on the local and Midwest acts, while I am looking for the national and international acts. Last year we were lucky as we reached out to a lot of bands that I had promoted or we both knew as friends. It was a bit of an uphill battle with a lot of agents trying to tell our vision and many were not listening about Heavy Chicago. This year has definitely been a bit easier as the success of the fest got out, and the bands who played posted and said really awesome stuff. This year we have had more options and more agents working with us.”
One of the main goals of this festival is to keep a strong local flavor with Chicago area bands in the lineup. After all, it is called Heavy Chicago. Friday’s headliners will be local stoner/doom metal mainstays Bongripper, Chicago’s Pelican, followed by New York metallic hardcore veterans Earth Crisis on Saturday night with Jamey Jasta’s Hatebreed side project -Jasta, and wrapping up with Floridian prog metal heroes Cynic on Sunday. Local doom metal supergroup Legions of Doom (only area show in 2024) plays on Saturday, while The Skull performs on Sunday. “We are pretty excited to have the opportunity to play two nights this year,” the guitarist of both bands, Lothar Keller, says through email. “The Avondale Music Hall is a fantastic venue with great sound, and the room has an awesome vibe. We are very fortunate to have so many venues in the Chicago area that can host metal shows and events. With the amount of great local metal bands we have here, it’s a good problem to have. It’s part of what makes Chicago such a great metal city!”
