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Mad Decent Block Party Returning To Chicago After Diplo Bashes City

By David Matthews | May 2, 2016 3:25pm | Updated on May 9, 2016 8:45am
 A scene from Mad Decent Block Party's festival last year in suburban Cicero.
A scene from Mad Decent Block Party's festival last year in suburban Cicero.
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Facebook/Mad Decent Block Party

DOWNTOWN — Electronic dance music festival Mad Decent Block Party is returning to Chicago, a first since festival goers stampeded through the gates in 2012 and after its organizer bashed the city last year.

The touring festival, led by artist Diplo and his Mad Decent record label, announced Monday it will stop in Chicago on Aug. 21 at FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Drive.

The Mad Decent artists this year will include Kesha, Tiesto, and Tory Lanez, but lineups will vary by city. Tickets are $45, according to Ticketmaster

The tour is known for bringing in major DJs as headliners, but also its checkered history in Chicago. The tour skipped Chicago in 2013 and 2014 after festival goers stampeded through the gates of a small West Loop venue the year before, prompting organizers to shut down the festival early. Diplo bashed City Hall after bringing the festival to suburban Cicero last year, saying the festival might not return to Chicago after city officials treated it "like trash." 

A Chicago Park District spokeswoman deferred questions to concert promoter Live Nation, which oversees the Northerly Island venue. The "block party" date was announced on the festival's website and social media pages Monday.

"Chicago was one of the first places we ever threw a Block Party outside of Philadelphia, and coming back is something we've been working on for years," a Mad Decent spokesman wrote in an e-mail. "No tour of the US is complete without a stop in Chicago and we are excited to have our fans out to the best amphitheater in the city. "

The block party has been touring since 2008. 

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