Chicago’s Constellation Performing Arts Announces Inaugural Sound & Gravity Festival

In recent years, we’ve encountered plenty of discussion claiming that the music festival format is becoming obsolete as attendance dwindles, and many have called it quits. Maybe that’s all true, or maybe those statements pertain primarily to the more orthodox, corporate-backed formats that have long epitomized them for most people. If the influencer-filled rage fests and glorified frat parties need to wilt and fade away, so be it, as long as the smaller operations with more cultural aims and innovative approaches continue to sustain themselves. They may receive less hype, but if you block out the noise, there are still some tremendous festivals carving out their own space and new ones sprouting up all the time. The latest eveent beckoning us across the country is Chicago‘s Sound And Gravity. The inaugural lineup has just been announced and this thing looks to have some real potential. If nothing else, they are boasting a monster lineup.

One indicator that the age of the festival as we know it might be in decline is the end of Pitchfork Music Festival. After 19 years, P4k announced that 2024 would be its final installment in Chicago. A statement on the event website about the “difficult decision” to pull the plug acknowledges how “the music festival landscape continues to evolve rapidly.” In the same message, they thank “Mike Reed for founding the Festival and for [his] inspiring vision.” 

Mike Reed wears several hats, along with being a renowned jazz and improv musician who has collaborated with such notable artists as Matthew Shipp, Julian Priester, Mary Halvorson, and Rob Mazurek. The musician, composer, bandleader, and arts presenter is deeply embedded in the Chicago arts community, not only as a performer, but as a founder and producer of events. Back in 2000, he and cornetist Josh Berman started the Sunday Transmission music series at The Hungry Brain tavern. In 2016, Reed took ownership of the local bar/venue, which is credited as “a fulcrum for live creative music and socially-driven public programs.” As well as being the current programming chair of the Chicago Jazz Festival, he helped start the summer music series Downtown Sounds held in Millennum Park. Mike remains involved in the programming for the free weekly event, which boasts an eclectic lineup of music from the worlds of indie rock, world music, and contemporary soul. Furthermore, Reed is a member of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), where he served as vice-chairperson between 2009-2011. A 60 year old institution, the AACM‘s mission statement is to “sustain a creative community and new platforms for experimentation and innovation in music.” Sound And Gravity is Mike Reed‘s latest example of embodying that ethos and progressing it forward.

Sound & Gravity is being presented by Constellation, a critically acclaimed multi-room venue and non-profit that Reed founded in 2013 to host and promote jazz, experimental, contemporary classical, and improvised music. The festival will operate as a fundraiser for the organization, taking place over a 5 day period from September 10-14, 2025. Capitalizing on the walkability and resources of the vibrant Bricktown/Avondale area of Chicago, programming will be spread across such venues as Constellation, Hungry Brain, Judson & Moore, Beat Kitchen, Guild Row, and Rockwell on the River. Sound & Gravity promises to reflect the diversity and passion of Constellation Performing Arts by offering an “immersive experience [that] showcases a diverse range of musical genres.” Beyond the 48 featured artists already announced will be additional surprise sets curated by Electrical Audio, the famed Chicago recording studio founded by the late Steve Albini.

At the end of March, Mike Reed’s Separatist Party performed at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville. While out there, I saw the bandleader on the street with member, Cooper Crain (Bitchin Bajas, CAVE), and Ecuadorean multi-instrumentalist/producer, Helado Negro. Not only does some of the Sound & Gravity lineup overlap with Big Ears – Helado Negro has been booked – but the multi-venue layout and mix of similar genres does mirror that of the Eastern Tennesee counterpart. In my opinion, this is a great thing. Big Ears is an amazing festival with a setup that provides attendees with an insight and appreciation of the city they are visiting. The Sound & Gravity venues being within a 5-15 minute walk from one another benefits Chicago at large, since attendees will be wandering through the city, eating at local establishments, and witnessing culture beyond the festival stages. Although we expect Sound & Gravity to have its own unique identity on display, exporting a little bit of Big Ears to Illinois is a positive. Plus, the “Chicago dog” I had in Knoxville was not on point, so that’s one plus they’ll have going for them.

As for the lineup, 2025 Big Ears performers like Mary Lattimore, William Tyler, Eucademix (the electronic project of Cibo Matto’s Yuka Honda), and Edsel Axle (Rosali doing solo electric improv guitar) will be there. Other artists who appeared in Knoxville will be bringing different projects to the Windy City — Jeff Parker with his Expansion Trio, Nels Cline with his Saccata Quartet, and Mary Halvorson performing her brilliant and mesmerizing 6-song suite, Amaryllis. Other artists that we love whose inclusion immediately caught our attention are Bill Callahan, Mdou Moctar, Body/Head, Irreversible Entanglements, The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, Steve Gunn, Sam Prekop, and Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble. For the inaugural year, Reed and company plan to hit the ground running. They intend to make an impact right out of the gate, and this should be nothing short of amazing.

Tickets for Sound & Gravity go on sale on Wednesday, May 7 at 11am CT, and can be purchased HERE. Ticket options include an all-event four-day pass at $240, a single-day pass at $95, and a Wednesday opening night pass at $45.

One cool thing about the festival is that they’ve already made the schedule available on the website. You can take a look at that now by clicking HERE.

Check out the full lineup below

Sound & Gravity 2025 Lineup:

Bill Callahan • Mdou Moctar • Body/Head • Helado Negro • Mary Lattimore • Irreversible Entanglements • Jeff Parker Expansion Trio • Tarbaby • The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis • Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore • Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis • Steve Gunn • William Tyler • Elias Rønnenfelt • Glenn Kotche • Rafiq Bhatia • Saccata Quartet • Third Coast Percussion • Chicago Underground Duo • Darius Jones Trio • Sam Prekop • Eucademix • ganavya • Geologist • Nabihah Iqbal • Hannah Cohen • Jeremiah Chiu • Ken Vandermark Edition Redux • Anna Webber’s Simple Trio • Cooper Moore • Fred Moten & Brandon Lopez • Glyders • Maria Somerville • Olivia Block & Lea Bertucci • Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble • JJJJJerome Ellis • Lia Kohl/Macie Stewart/Whitney Johnson • Luke Stewart’s Chicago Quartet • Magic Tuber Stringband • Nadah El Shazly • James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg • Edsel Axle • Ana Everling • Hanging Hearts • Michael Zerang’s Puzzle House • Mute Duo • sinonó • Andreas Røysum Ensemble w/ Marvin Tate