ARC Music Festival brings house music home for four days in 2026

ARC Music Festival is bringing house music home — and this year, it’s doing it over four days. The Chicago event returns to Union Park for Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4–7, 2026, with a lineup headlined by Anyma, Underworld, Michael Bibi, Honey Dijon, and Sara Landry presents ETERNALISM.

The lineup carries a strong Chicago contingent, with Honey Dijon topping the card as a native returning to Union Park. Derrick Carter, one of Chicago house’s foundational voices, returns alongside Mike Dunn and Azzecca, a rising name in the city’s acid and dark dance scene.

Not only are house heads getting an entire extra day of music, but ARC is also introducing a new stage environment: The Midway. The name pulls from Chicago’s historic Midway Plaisance, nodding to Midway International Airport and the architectural legacy of the original Midway Gardens. The stage channels the spirit of global jetset travel and the worldwide diaspora of house music, using the aesthetic of an international terminal to celebrate house music’s global reach.

The Grid returns as the festival’s main stage, home to the weekend’s largest productions and headlining sets. Expansions brings back its tree-lined, sun-soaked setting, the more relaxed open-air counterpart across Union Park.

ARC features more than just Chicago artists and Chicago house. At roughly the same time Chicago house was coming up, so was Detroit techno. The Area 909 stage, named after the legend of a shared Roland 909 that would travel between Detroit and Chicago.

Area 909 will highlight some of the unique sounds from the techno city. Featuring performances from Carl Craig, Moodymann, and Stacey Pullen perform together as Detroit Love, putting three of Detroit techno’s founding voices on the same stage.

Unique back-to-back sets have become one of ARC’s signatures. Carl Cox and Green Velvet’s 2024 set was only the second time the two had shared decks, their first collaboration in 15 years. This year’s card includes The Blessed Madonna b2b Lil’ Louis, Joy Orbison b2b Ben UFO, Green Velvet b2b Josh Baker, and Tiga b2b Brunello.

Mau P, Chris Stussy, Cloonee, Mochakk, and Beltran fill out the card, alongside the back-to-back pairings of MEDUZA b2b GENESI and Walker & Royce b2b VNSSA.

Chase & Status anchor the drum and bass programming. Nia Archives b2b X CLUB. sit at the intersection of drum and bass and club music.

The harder techno end features Nicole Moudaber b2b Paco Osuna b2b Dubfire, Nico Moreno, I Hate Models, and Italian duo 999999999.

“Every year we face the same challenge: we want to include more artists than the schedule allows. The global community is thriving, and ARC always flies by,” said John Curley, ARC co-founder and lead talent buyer. “Just as we hit our stride, the weekend is over, and we never want the music to stop. By expanding to four days, we can showcase more of the talent we love and create even more unforgettable moments for our community. This marks the beginning of a new era for ARC.”

If you’re looking to continue your night beyond Union Park, ARC After Dark expands to five nights, running Thursday through Monday, with Monday added as a result of the four-day format. In 2025, the series covered 13 venues, 35 parties, and more than 120 artists. It remains exclusive to ARC pass holders.

The full lineup is at arcmusicfestival.com. Four-day, three-day, and single-day passes go on sale Friday, March 13, at noon CDT.