Farewell to the Silver Room Block Party

I’m saddened by this news. [READER]( The Daily Reader June 28, 2023 On Friday, organizers behind the Silver Room Block Party announced this year’s iteration will be the last. The reason? As Silver Room founder Eric Williams told The TRiiBE, [the event has become more expensive than he can manage](. I knew Williams invested a lot of his own time and money in the block party. We talked about this when I interviewed him for [an oral history about the event in 2019](. SRBP transformed from an informal, word-of-mouth event in a Wicker Park alley that attracted a few hundred people into a marquee Hyde Park bonanza drawing 40,000 people in less than 20 years. [Williams told me]( at the time that he had considered ending the block party for many of the same reasons that the fest will come to an end this year. We spoke before the pandemic. Last year, the Block Party moved to Oakwood Beach and transformed into a more traditional multi-day music festival—albeit one that cost less than most of the other ones in town. (It cost $50 for a two-day pass and $30 for a single day.) As [The TRiiBE reported]( last year’s fest drew about 15,000 attendees. I’m saddened by the news about the Block Party. How could I not be? Williams launched it as a reaction to northwest-side street fests that excluded him and his community. His grassroots event certainly filled a void. And I am all for community-oriented summertime events that people who live here dream up and launch themselves. The news landed right as AEG launched its [Re:SET festival in Riis Park](. This week, the city will shut down major downtown streets to prepare for [the NASCAR Chicago Street Race](. As corporate entities continue to block off space intended for public use, I find myself more and more interested in informal summertime events organized by Chicagoans with the explicit goal of spending time outside with their neighbors. I don’t doubt other people in town will launch their own block parties or park hangouts—and that some of those events may have the kind of grassroots success that ensures they’ll become annual traditions. I just wonder where they can happen next. Sincerely, “[It’s the Armed’s World and Soon We’ll All Be Living in It,]( by Dan Ozzi (Fader) “[An interview with Holiday Kirk, CEO of Nu Metal,]( by Mike Giegerich (No Bells) “[Guide To Chicago Hardcore in 2023,]( by Hugo Reyes (Hugo Reyes’s Medium) Superfun, [Pink Machine]( Militarie Gun, [Life Under the Gun]( Veeze, [Ganger]( 😎 Leor’s “[Bye June 2023]( playlist [Godflesh look to their past on the powerful third record of their reunion run]( by [Luca Cimarusti]( | [Read more]( → [Ugli’s Girldick is a gay summer bop]( by [Micco Caporale]( | [Read more]( → [Meat-and-potatoes rockers Razed by Apes celebrate a classic-sounding debut]( Plus: Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles throws a tenth-anniversary block party, and indie five-piece Deerest Friends release a shambolic but ambitious new album. by [J.R. Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → The best of Chicago's arts and culture. Our bi-weekly arts and culture newsletter has what's now and what's next in Chicago's visual and performing arts scene. [SIGN UP FOR SECOND & FOURTH]( [Issue of June 15 – 28 2023 Vol. 52, No. 18]( [View/Download Issue [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616