What is “Soul Music?” We could examine the question over and over and never come up with an absolute answer. That’s the premise behind the highly anticipated First Annual Chicago Soul Music Festival, which will take place June 26-28 in Union Park in the city’s West Loop. The soulful Leela James and the legendary Roy Ayers are the festivals headline acts.
Eric Smith and his festival collaborator and high school friend, Richard Porter, intend to put together a celebration of “Soul Music” so rich that it will shatter listeners perceptions about the genre. “We are going to have some R&B, Hip- Hop Soul and Rock Soul. Our generation should be able to claim Soul Music as much as when it kicked off in the late 60’s and 70’s,” said Smith. The festival coincides with June’s designation as Black Music Month.
No newcomer to the event production, Smith cut his teeth organizing music festivals while pursuing his MBA at UCLA. He put together UCLA’s Reggae/ Jazz Fest, a multi-day event held on the football field of the famed Bruins. As Smith worked his way back home to Chicago he decided to plan an event worthy of Chicago. “I’ve always felt Chicago would be well served by an event like that … we’ve got a lot of artists who are really making their way — like Kanye, Common, Jennifer Hudson.”
Working in partnership with 27-year-old Alderman Walter Burnett and the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, Smith says the Soul Music Festival will also bring attention to Chicago’s many unique neighborhood summer festivals. “I would like for it to be an annual institution that draws people from all over the world to Chicago and identifies the city as a Soul Music town.” –tony binns 09
