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The 34th Annual Chosen Few House Picnic Was A Lovefest
Wayne Williams, Terry Hunter, Mike Dunn, and Alan King deliver unforgettable DJ sets at the 34th annual Chosen Few House Picnic
The 34th annual Chosen Few House Picnic in. Chicago was a love fest. On July 13, 2024 the Chosen Few DJ's continued the tradition of spreading love through house music and good vibes. This year also commemorates the 40th year of house music. Thousands showed up to jack their bodies under the blue Chicago sky. Many traveled from as far as London for the experience and to share in the love that is expressed freely.
The beauty of this specific festival lives in the authenticity of its approach. It is essentially a picnic and reunion all in one place. Pair that with the some of the most celebrated DJ's in the world and you have a recipe for something extremely special and unique. The DJ sets of Wayne Williams, Terry Hunter, Mike Dunn and Alan King are all different and managed to achieve the goal of bringing the crowd to a fever pitch at any given moment.
Deon Cole surprised the audience when he came out to perform his song "Post That S—t" produced by 3 time Grammy nominated producer Terry Hunter. A set of street signs honoring the Chosen Few DJ's was unveiled and presented to them by Farley Jack Master Funk. The most moving part of the evening was when Mike Dunn took a moment out of his set to honor songwriter, producer and vocalist, Chuck Roberts who recently died at the age of 66. Roberts was known as the "Voice Of House Music" and is best known for his spoken word sermon on the 1987 track "My House" where you hear the legendary opening "In the beginning there was jack." The crowd raised their "C's" up in the air to honor Chuck and Chicago and Mike Dunn ripped into one of the most powerful sets of the evening.
The Chosen Few Picnic serves as a reminder that house music is not only a genre it is a feeling. House music is a spirit of love that transcends all boundaries and 34 years later continues to be one of the best examples of what Summer Time Chi is all about.
Rolling out asked Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Tarrey Torae to describe the Chosen Few Picnic in one word. "To describe the Chosen Few Picnic in one word it would be love — that's it, just love," said Torae
Take a look at a few photos in the gallery below.
'I Just Feel It In My Soul' — House Fans Revel In Joy, Friendship At Chosen Few Picnic
When asked why he has dedicated decades of his life to house music, DJ Andre Hatchett gave a simple response: "Music is my life."
And inspiring people to dance at events like the Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival has made his job "even better," said Hatchett, who is 60.
"There could be two people out there, and I'm happy."
Given that benchmark, Hatchett must have been in a state of euphoria at the 2024 event on Saturday, which was expected to draw about 40,000 attendees to Jackson Park. One of the many parties celebrating 40 years of the genre this year, the event kicked off at 8 a.M.
All day, "house heads" danced to sets by the legendary Chosen Few DJ collective, which includes Hatchett, his brother, Tony, Wayne Williams, Jesse Saunders, Alan King, Terry Hunter and Mike Dunn.
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
DJ Jihad Muhammad plays during the Chosen Few picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A man grills food during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Ena Loury and her husband Antonio James attend the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesPat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Veronica Jackson (right) jumps when she sees a friend during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Shelonda Mackey hugs a friend during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Dawn Foster-Taylor wears a metallic outfit during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A house music fan uses a portable electric fan to stay cool during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
DJ Jihad Muhammad performs during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans sit and chat as a DJ plays onstage during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
DJ Neil Pierce performs during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A person carries a tote bag that reads, "Chicago created house music" during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park Saturday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Attendees also set up tents, fired up grills, and showed off colorful outfits or T-shirts featuring phrases such as "House heads," "I Love House Music," and "Go house or go home." Witnessing people talk and laugh with the friends they came with — and the friends they see once a year at the event — the feelings of joy and unity were palpable.
"It's like a family reunion," said Debbie Shannon, a South Sider in her 50s, who twirled a purple umbrella as she danced to the music.
"Most of us come from the same type of place: Englewood, South Side, West Side. And these are the people who started this music."
Debbie Shannon twirls a purple umbrella while dancing at the Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival in Jackson Park. "Most of us come from the same type of place: Englewood, South Side, West Side. And these are the people who started this music," she said.
Kinya McDowell was reuniting with her high school friends, who were sitting in a tent that included a banner showcasing their nickname: the "Blue Sweater Posse."
The moniker originated during their teen years, when they wore blue uniforms and went to house music parties.
"I just feel it in my soul," said McDowell, 52, of South Shore. "Every time I hear it, I just want to move and dance, and I do."
Seeing groups like the "Blue Sweater Posse" is part of the fun of attending the fest. Other squads represented with their respective signs. For example, the "House Heads on the Move" stood out with their tent, which was decorated with black musical notes.
The group of dancers, many over 50, formed in 2016.
"Through our dance moves, we keep the crowd pumped and going," said founder Tony Wilson, who is 56. "We just love house music to the fullest. It's good exercise. It keeps us healthy."
Tony Wilson, of the House Heads on the Move dance group, dances. "We just love house music to the fullest. It's good exercise. It keeps us healthy," Wilson said.
Another attention-grabbing tent was decked out in orange and green colors to pay homage to Florida A&M University. "Chosen Few Crew" was printed on the banners next to an image of the school's mascot.
Sitting inside were retired school teacher Claretha Washington, 62, and Air Force veteran Dante McCommon, 69, whose sister attended FAMU.
"When I'm depressed, us veterans get together and hit the button and listen to house music," said McCommon, also a former house DJ. "I grew up on it. I will love it 'til I die."
Claretha Washington, left, and Dante McCommon sit in their tent decked out in the colors of Florida A&M University at the Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival in Jackson Park.
Attendees had their pick of snacks, including wood-fired pizza, ribs, Harold's chicken and pot roast cupcakes from Oooh Wee It Is, one of the event partners.
"It's a great opportunity to be among our fans and our foodies," Oooh Wee founder Mark Walker said of the fest. "I love house music. … You can't help but move your feet. Between house music and church music, you find peace. They're similar. And I'm a preacher's kid, so I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong."
Food and friendship aside, the Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival is primarily about celebrating the DJs. Early in the day, people were noticeably excited by DJ Sundance's set, especially when she spun a mix of "Talk To God 'Bout It."
"Sundance is going to give that real, real," said attendee Kelly Alexander, 53, a Navy vet from South Shore who came to the fest despite a foot injury. "She's going to go back, go forward and do some new" music.
Playing the fest is a major highlight, even for the Grammy-nominated Chosen Few DJ Terry Hunter, who has traveled internationally and remixed songs for Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and others.
"It's nothing like it in the world," said Hunter, 53, who lives on the South Side. "It's hard going to another event after playing this."
House music fans dance during the Chosen Few picnic at Jackson Park. This year marks 40 years since the genre's founding.
The Chosen Few Picnic Is Still One Of The Best Ways To Spend A Chicago Summer Day
DJ Mike Dunn Over the past couple decades, Chicago's summer festival calendar has gotten cartoonishly overstuffed. This weekend, the 34th annual Chosen Few Picnic & Festival is one of five big outdoor music events. The others include two of the city's largest street festivals—Square Roots and West Fest—each with three days of music that rival the bills at big-ticket attractions. As the Chosen Few Picnic sets up camp in Jackson Park on Saturday, July 13, Miche Fest will kick off two days of Latine music on Oakwood Beach and the Windy City Smokeout will begin day three of its huge country bash in the United Center parking lot. But even with all this competition, the Chosen Few Picnic has continued to grow and thrive, in part by remaining true to its roots. As big as it is, it's still basically a cookout attached to a concert, and it still doubles as an occasion to reunite the beloved collective of house-music DJs who gave the event its name.
Wayne Williams founded the Chosen Few as a high school student in 1977. Several DJs had passed through the group by the time he recruited his stepbrother Jesse Saunders later that year, and soon the other core members came aboard: Tony Hatchett in '78, Alan King in '80, and Tony's younger brother, Andre, in '81. The Chosen Few helped shape house music as a grassroots youth movement and citywide phenomenon, but in the early 80s members began leaving Chicago for college. The Hatchett family hosted reunions around the Fourth of July, gathering behind the Museum of Science and Industry to barbecue and hang out, and in 1990, the rest of the Chosen Few showed up to spin. That first reunion was so informal that the DJs set up their turntables on top of garbage cans, but it became an annual tradition and evolved into a seasonal ritual that tens of thousand of people plan their summers around.
By 2007 the Chosen Few Picnic was drawing a crowd of 10,000, and in subsequent years that number more than quadrupled. The event's organizers built out an infrastructure commensurate with that size: it became a ticketed, gated event (it was free till 2010) with a massive stage for performers, a towering sound system, and a jumbotron for dancers in the back. Thankfully, the Chosen Few Picnic has little else in common with other major fests. It's the only one I've ever been to where attendees are at their liberty to set up elaborate campsites and barbecue grills on most of the grounds.
The main musical draw at the picnic will always be the Chosen Few. They now number seven, with the addition of Terry Hunter in 2006 and Mike Dunn in '12, and every member spins an hour-long set. The collective always brings out special guests too, and this year they include former WBLS DJ Timmy Regisford (who cofounded New York nightclub Shelter in 1991) performing back-to-back with Spiritual Life Music label founder and producer Joe Claussell. Hip-house pioneer Fast Eddie is among the handful of live performers, alongside vocalist Julie McKnight and gospel-house group Jasper Street Company.
I'm increasingly leery of for-profit festivals that take over public parks. Is losing access to Grant Park for weeks a good trade-off for the opportunity to spend hundreds of dollars on tickets to Lollapalooza so you can see the bland new Chicago band you're supposed to care about because Baz Luhrmann hired their front man? But I don't put the Chosen Few Picnic in that category, not least because it lets people use the park like a park. It seems to me like an important event worth fighting for, because it still enjoys grassroots support from the community that helped build it. It's not just a reunion of the Chosen Few but also a reunion of the regulars who give this huge event the intimacy of a family affair, and in my experience it's by far the friendliest outdoor music event in Chicago. Maybe the euphoric mood of house music gets people feeling magnanimous, but I also think at least some of that friendliness comes from the culture of house. It's not just about the people spinning records onstage, it's also about all the folks who come out to dance—the love travels in all directions and connects everyone.
Chosen Few Picnic & Festival The day's bill consists of the Chosen Few DJs, Timmy Regisford b2b Joe Claussell, Jihad Muhammad, Sundance, Neil Pierce, Fast Eddie, Julie McKnight, and Jasper Street Company. Sat 7/13, 9 AM–10 PM, Jackson Park, 63rd St. At Stony Island and Hayes, $80 general admission, VIP sold out, parking passes sold out, 12 and under free, all ages
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