Chicago is set to send the summer festival season out on a soulful note as the Southside Soul Festival takes place tomorrow (Sept. 13).
The one day festival aims to encourage stability, economic and business development, as well as safer, cleaner communities in which to develop our community’s youth. Taking place on Chicago’s Southeast Side on 87th street from Jeffrey to Paxton Avenue, this marks the first time in many years that vehicular traffic on 87th Street will be rerouted to allow residents of all ages to come together to experience music, free health screenings, dancing and workout classes.
Chicago based comedian Damon Williams will be the host of the free event and soul music superstar, Dwele will headline the event. Other acts scheduled to perform include Aniba Hotep & The Sol Collective, V. Holmes’ “A Tribute to the Motown Greats,” Noah the Genius, and the Class Act Orchestra.
We recently caught up with Dwele to talk about his love for Chicago and what fans might expect to see at the festival tomorrow.
Talk about your relationship with Chicago and what you love about it.
Chicago is like a second home. When you need to get away, new scenery same street, you just take Michigan Avenue straight there.
You have a loyal fan base here and everyone is excited about you performing at Southside Soul Festival which is in the community and is free to the public. Is performing at community focused events like this one important to you?
I love doing free community performances. You get your usual crowd and also the crowd that otherwise might not have ever heard your music. I always get messages on social media from the “twuneanunda” crew that can’t get into my shows because they’re one to two months out from club entry and a drink, but with community free shows, everyone is welcome. And there’s always a Harold’s Chicken stand at outdoor Chi-Town events.
Can you give us a clue or two about what you have in store for the fans at the event?
I always try to make the event special and intimate no matter the size of the crowd. I plan on doing the same with this event. I like interacting while on stage. I’m still promoting the Greater Than One album, but plan on doing some of the older favorites off of the older albums as well; something to groove to, dance to, close your eyes to .. .covering all the bases.
There are many issues around violence in our community, not just here in Chicago but across the country. Do you have advice for young people that look to music for guidance or a possible way out of tough situation?
No easy answers for a tough situation. We’re not only fighting ourselves, but we’re also fighting a system. I think a good start would be to begin implementing music and arts back into the schools instead of taking them out. The youth need an outlet. Taking arts from the school is like taking their voice. We need to focus more on family and community, and we also need to start instilling patience, diligence and quality in our youth, teach them to make quality crafts, whatever their craft is. Then we can start spending money and keeping money in the community. That would change a lot.
What’s next for Dwele? Any other projects you worked on that we should be looking out for?
There’s always something in the works! I don’t count my chickens before they hatch though. I’m definitely looking to drop a new album in the third quarter of 2015. Until then, it’s business as usual.
The Southside Soul Festival will take place this Saturday, Sept. 13, from 1o a.m. to 6 p.m. on 87th street between Jeffrey Avenue and Paxton Avenue in Chicago.
For more information on the event, visit www.southeastchgochamber.org
