Photos by RaRa Photography

Weather doesn’t seem to like Chicago festivals much, and the latest edition of North Coast at Union Park was no exception. The festival got off to a familiar beginning as those in attendance were evacuated from the park within hours of arriving due to a storm that quickly swept through the area. As memories of Bjork getting cut short weeks earlier at Pitchfork Festival danced in everyone’s heads, careful planning by organizers REACT Presents and 1833 got North Coast going again before 8 o’clock and sent hundreds dashing across baseball fields and basketball courts to catch RL Grime who restarted the party and essentially re-opened the festival for the weekend.

The soggy crowd bounced between the remaining acts. AlunaGeorge made their US festival debut, playing on the main stage with an electrifying outfit. With only 30 minutes left, they rocked the stage with a graceful performance. The festival continued on with other acts from Laid back Luke, Mac Miller, and Passion Pit who gathered a crowd to the furthest point of the park.

Despite Passion Pit’s equipment being severely damaged by the storm they did not disappoint the crowd by canceling, instead playing a DJ set to the enjoyment of a positive and responsive crowd. Mac Miller, performing on the North Stage, put on an inspired performance while playing a variety of his increasingly extensive library as he touched on content from 2009’s KIDS to this year’s Watching Movies With The Sound Off to a young, raucous crowd.

The surprise act of the day was certainly Chicago’s own ProbCause, whose 7 o’clock Tent Stage performance was pushed back, putting him onstage at the same time as Mac and Paper Diamond, who put on a live performance himself. Despite beginning the set with a sparse crowd, Prob faced the adversity head on and rocked the crowd like he was on the main stage, attracting fans old and new. Later, I headed to the Bottom Lounge where he joined fellow North Coast performer Psalm One onstage for the Just Blaze after show.

Day 1 of North Coast may have been set back by the sudden storm, but delivered to everyone who came out. North Coast handled the situation gracefully with a fast and easy path back into the festival and a safe end to it all. –