In 2014, AAHH! Fest rivaled all other Chicago music festivals in just one day. The rap and R&B festival, led by Chicago’s own, Common, saw performances from Kanye West, Dave Chappelle, Jennifer Hudson and more. The next year however, the festival announced that it would be taking a year-long hiatus, hoping to return in 2016.
The festival surprised many and kept its promise, returning in 2016 with huge performances from J. Cole, The Roots, Vic Mensa, Common and a surprise appearance from Chance The Rapper.
Unfortunately for fans wishing to attend AAHH! Fest in 2017, history is repeating itself as AAHH! Fest abruptly announced that this year’s festival would be cancelled. In an official statement the festival announced that they are “retolling this initiative to create an experience that goes far beyond an outdoor music event.” And with that, the festival announced that it will return on September 15, 2018.
Be sure to save the date and hope that AAHH! Fest returns bigger than ever.
Sunday marked the final day of Common’s (now 2-day) music festival, AAHH! Fest. Taking place at Chicago’s Union Park, Common brought some of the biggest names in hip-hop to his hometown festival. Following Saturday’s Community Day, where fans got to see some of the city’s young talent perform, as well as surprise guest appearances and sets from Chicago’s own, Tink, Taylor Bennett and Dreamville’s Omen, Sunday’s main stage lineup was stacked from top to bottom.
First up was a Chicago native and one of our favorite emerging artists, Sir The Baptist. With some huge co-signs, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne (just to name a couple), Sir The Baptist is making waves throughout Chicago and the rap world as a whole. Whether you’ve been hooked from Day 1, or were blown away by his moving performance at Lollapalooza this year, Sir The Baptist is one of the easiest rappers to root for right now and his single ‘Raise Hell’ will certainly get you on your feet.
Next up, AAHH! Fest saw a performance from another one of the city’s more conscious rappers, SAVEMONEY’s Vic Mensa. Another rapper who had a moving and memorable set at Lollapalooza this year, Vic Mensa brought performances of his politically charged EP, There’s Alot Going On. Following Vic’s performance, Odd Future’s Syd tha Kyd-led group, The Internet hit the stage, and delivered as always.
Moments later, it was time for another one of Chicago’s own to hit the stage, this time ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em’ singer Jeremih. Giving fans a half hour of some of his biggest hits, Jeremih’s set was definitely for the ladies in attendance tonight. Following his set, and some of music’s most talented young artists, was all for the hip-hop heads in the audience. Next, AAHH! Fest saw sets from The Roots, Common, Ice Cube, Bilal and a surprise appearance from R. Kelly, all legends in their own right.
But after a few legends in hip-hop stepped off stage, it was time for the night’s headliner, none other than J. Cole. Returning to Chicago, after a headlining performance for the opening night of Lollapalooza’s huge 25th Anniversary, J. Cole killed it, to no one’s surprise. While J. Cole is one of the few artists tonight without direct Chicago ties, you wouldn’t have guessed it by the audience’s reaction as Cole stepped on stage. Michael Jordan isn’t the only great name from North Carolina embraced by the Windy City, as J. Cole will always have a second home in Chicago, and that was more than evident tonight. AAHH! Fest will have a tough job matching this year’s performances in 2017.
Today kicked off the return of rapper Common’s hometown music festival, AAHH! Fest, at Chicago’s Union Park. After an inaugural year in 2014, which saw performances from Kanye West, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Jay Electronica and more, the festival took a year off in 2015 but returned this year bigger than ever, now growing into a 2-day event. And in order to warm things up for Sunday’s lineup, which will feature performances from J. Cole, Ice Cube, Vic Mensa, Jeremih, The Roots and Sir The Baptist (just to name a few), today was the festival’s Community Day, ran in association with Kanye West’s foundation Donda’s House.
Fans in attendance today not only saw some of Chicago’s most talented young artists, including John The Author, DJ Mike P, The Pack Drumline, Retro Gibson, the J. Money Dancers and more, but Chicago also was treated to sets from Tink, rapper Taylor Bennett and Dreamville’s Omen. And just because it was the Community Day, doesn’t mean that it didn’t have some star power of it’s own, as the festival saw a huge surprise appearance from Chance The Rapper, who was already hosting his own festival a few miles south at the U.S. Cellular Field, as well as an opening appearance from SAVE MONEY’s Vic Mensa.
With a great showcase of some potential future AAHH! Fest headliners today, the stage is definitely set for tomorrow’s festivities. Chicago not only had a chance to cheer on their city today, but today was also a reminder of Common’s commitment to Chicago through his Common Ground Foundation, set to bring jobs, education and inspiration to the Windy City.
Check out our photos from the Community Day of Common’s AAHH! Fest 2016 below.
Common’s huge hometown music festival, AAHH! Fest, is returning this month, set to match a legendary inaugural year in 2014 which saw performances from Kanye West, Common, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, Jennifer Hudson, Jay Electronica and more. Although fans shouldn’t expect a surprise performance from Mr. West this time around, as he is currently on his Saint Pablo Tour, AAHH! Fest’s 2016 lineup is just as exciting. AAHH! Fest will take place on September 24-25, with a community day showcasing young Chicago artists on the fest’s first day, and fans can get tickets now at AAHHFest.com.
Check our list of the most anticipated performers of AAHH! Fest 2016 at the jump!
AAHH! Fest, the Chicago music festival of the city’s own, rapper Common, just got a whole lot better as the final headlining performer has been revealed. Joining Vic Mensa, The Roots, Bilal, Common, Malik Yusef, Jeremih, Sir The Baptist and more will be Mr. Cole World, himself, J. Cole.
The two-day festival will run from September 24-25 at Union Park in Chicago, IL. And it isn’t just a great music festival either, as it’s also Common’s dedication to bringing education programs and jobs to Chicago, by raising funds to support the Common Ground Foundation and Donda’s House, the charitable organizations of Common, Kanye West and Rhymefest.
Get your tickets now at AAHHFest.com and check out our photos from 2014’s AAHH! Fest below.
Common’s Chicago AAHH! Festis returning to Union Park this September, and after the release of the festival’s initial lineup (Jeremih, The Internet, Sir The Baptist), the festival has added some additional big names. Joining the previously announced AAHH! Fest artists this year will be Chicago’s own Vic Mensa, The Roots, comedian Deon Cole, Bilal, Malik Yusef and more. That isn’t all either, as other big names are still to be announced.
The two-day festival will run from September 24-25 and it isn’t just a great music festival either, as it’s also Common’s dedication to bringing education programs and jobs to Chicago, by raising funds to support the Common Ground Foundation and Donda’s House, the charitable organizations of Common, Kanye West and Rhymefest.
Get your tickets now at AAHHFest.com and check out our photos from 2014’s AAHH! Fest below.
Following a huge inaugural year in 2014, Chicago’s AAHH! Fest took a year hiatus and many wondered if the Common-led festival would return to the Windy City. With huge performances from big Chi-town names like Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Jennifer Hudson, a superstar surprise headlining set from Kanye West, comedy from Dave Chappelle and other memorable performances from MC Lyte, De La Soul, Jay Electronica and more, AAHH! Fest had a monumental first year, which left many disappointed when news broke that the festival would not be returning in 2015.
But fear not! AAHH! Fest is returning this year, as Common will surely bring another great lineup to his hometown in 2016. Coming back to Union Park on September 24-25 (now a two day festival), we couldn’t be more excited to see what Common has in store. While the lineup has yet to be announced, you can now buy pre-sale tickets for the festival’s main stage, which will take place on Sunday, September 25th.
AAHH! Fest isn’t just a great music fest either, it’s also Common’s dedication to bringing education programs and jobs to Chicago, by raising funds to support the Common Ground Foundation and Donda’s House, the charitable organizations of Common, Kanye West and Rhymefest.
Get your presale tickets now and check out our photos from 2014’s AAHH! Fest below.
Last year’s inaugural AAHH! Fest rivaled all other Chicago music festivals in just one day. Taking place at Union Park, the same grounds as Pitchfork and North Coast, the music festival (led by Chicago’s own, rapper Common) saw performances from Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Dave Chappelle, Jay Electronica, Jennifer Hudson, De La Soul, MC Lyte, Lil Herb, Diggy Simmon and a huge community showcase hosted by Kanye’s foundation, Donda’s House. Unfortunately though, if you are excited to see how the exciting new festival tops itself this year, you can’t.
Citing a “very demanding year”, the new festival has cancelled its 2015 festival and hopes to return again in 2016. Festival organizers want to “wait and do it right,” Common told Chicago Magazine. “Because the first one was so great, we know the next one we do has to be great. And we just felt this year we didn’t have all the tools or things we wanted to make it as dope as it could be.” It is uncertain whether the festival and its affiliates experienced budget problems for bringing the festival back, but we are hopeful that AAHH! Fest will return next year.
While we wait for AAHH! Fest 2016, enjoy some of our photos and footage from last year’s event.
Big Sean Speaks at Donda’s House’s “Behind The Mic” (Photo by Dan Garcia/The ER)
For those who don’t know Donda’s House is a non-profit organization created in honor of Kanye West’s late mother, Dr. Donda West. The mission of Donda’s House is to honor the educational legacy of Dr. West by implementing arts, health/wellness, and literature experiences that transform youth. In addition to their daily operations and weekly events, Donda’s House has put on a number of big events in the past year specifically, including their “Behind the Mic” event with Big Sean and their community showcase at this year’s AAHH! Fest. Now because of Illinois budget cuts, Donda’s House and its mission has been threatened, and they are asking for your help to make sure that all of Chicago’s youth has access to arts and a safe space at Donda’s House.
Earlier this month, Kanye West received a great deal of bad press after a misunderstanding where he tried to get everyone in the crowd to stand up, during a concert in Australia. After pointing out a couple of fans in the audience, Kanye later realized that one of the individuals was in a wheelchair and then continued the concert by performing his hit ‘Good Life’. After a number of misleading headlines, incorrectly suggesting that Kanye shamed the disabled man, Kanye performed a hometown surprise set at Chicago’s AAHH! Fest, just a few days later. In the audience was another very special surprise guest, but he wasn’t there to perform, he was there to enjoy some good live music.
The Early Registration 