The Chicagoland area was rumbling in early September with the return of longstanding dance festival North Coast.
Celebrating its 16th year in 2026, the three-day fest happened Sept. 4-6 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., and put forth a load of bass-forward artists including Crankdat, Mary Droppinz, Illenium, Wooli, Richard Finger, Alleycvt, GRiZ, Level Up and Slander, along with a flurry of genre-spanning artists including Porter Robinson, Fisher, Sammy Virji, Jigitz and more than 55 Chicago-based DJs.
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A highlight of the lineup was a b2b2b2b from Chicago-born trio Levity playing with Turkish-American producer Tape B. Both white-hot dubstep producers of the moment, the two acts merged to play as LeviTape, dropping a set as hard, glitchy, wobbly and weird as one might expect. The set weaves in loads of familiar sonic ephemera, from samples of Cherish’s “Do It to It” to Eminem’s “My Name Is” to ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” all given the pull-no-punches dubstep treatment. And now, the complete 90-minute set is available only via Billboard.com.
Levity and Tape B were, in fact, on the road together all summer on a co-headlining 12-date amphitheater tour, with each night featuring a solo Tape B set, a solo Levity set and show-closing Levity b2b Tape B performance. This run included dates at Under the K Bridge in Brooklyn and other shows around the south, midwest and eastern United States. Next up, Levity has dates including Ultra Taiwan and San Diego’s Temper Festival, while Tape B is on the bill for Breakaway Houston, Philadelphia’s Hijinx Festival and more.
North Coast is produced by Collectiv Events, a Chicago-based independent concert and festival operator that’s also behind events including Florida’s Hulaween. In 2026, North Coast donated $1 from every ticket sold to organizations supporting under-resourced communities in the Chicago area.