The 606 Block Party, a new favorite among Chicagoans, will take place on Saturday, June 23 from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Thanks to our friends at New Belgium Brewing, we’ve got a lot of great music and other activities in store for you and your family.

New this year, the day will start out with a timed run on The Bloomingdale Trail, a Family Fun Walk from Churchill to Humboldt, and a community pancake breakfast.

This year, we are partnering with Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center to bring the curators of Puerto Rico’s Santurce es Ley art festival to create a sculpture and live paintings that invite community interaction and reflect the past, present, and future of the island of Puerto Rico.

As usual, over 30 community organizations will be on hand with fun hands-on activities during the day, and in the evening, Wagon will be on hand to make illuminated objects for the Illuminated Procession that ends the festivities.

We’ve got a great line-up of music on the main stage to energize you throughout the day!

Musical Line-Up:

RJD2: Catapulted to notoriety, fame, and serious hip-hop credibility with 2002’s Dead Ringer LP, Philadelphia-based DJ and multi-instrumentalist RJD2 has enjoyed a thoroughly prolific career, following that debut album with 2004’s critically acclaimed Since We Last Spoke. Recorded, performed, arranged, and produced entirely by himself in his basement studio, RJD2 commands his trusty MPC 2000XL sampler/sequencer alongside analog synths, electric pianos, and guitars, not to mention his own voice. http://www.rjd2.net/

Ric Wilson: Ric Wilson is a 22-year-old artist, performer and prison abolitionist from the South Side of Chicago. On August 30th, 2016 Ric dropped his EP “Soul Bounce” and following that weekend he performed at Northcoast Music Festival opening for BASSNECTAR on the Main Stage. Ric now continues to travel the city of Chicago and the country performing and speaking on social issues. http://ricwilsonmusic.com/

Enrique Calderon y su Orquesta: The sound of salsa has changed over the decades, and it is currently enjoying something of a back to basics moment. “That’s the sound I wanted to get on this first single,” says Calderon, “percussion and horns, kind of a classic approach.” Más Tiempo does a good job of navigating the gulf between salsa dura and salsa romántica. The arrangement is tight, with skillfully arranged horns and percolating percussion. Calderon’s voice is a little more rugged than the average crooner, and his sense of the rhythm is superb. http://www.enrqiue-calderon.com/

Bassel & The Supernaturals: Bassel & The Supernaturals combines neo-soul and funk with captivating lyrics about love, loss, and a war in Syria that has affected Bassel Almadani’s family along with 10,000,000 others. In addition to performing in clubs and festivals across the nation, Bassel partners with universities and charity organizations nationwide to host seminars, workshops, and benefit concerts drawing attention to the crisis in Syria. https://www.basselmusic.com/

The Shams Band: Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, songwriters Donnie Biggins and Paul Gulyas create whiskey-driven blues, complete with four-part harmonies. These garage rockers bring energy, passion, and captivating harmony to every live performance. https://theshamsband.bandcamp.com/

Sol Patches: A gender abolitionist artist from the South and North sides of Chicago, Sol Patches music is influenced by poetry and theater. Their new album “Garden City” includes a host of local collaborators including Hora English, Plus Sign and Mykele Deville. https://solpatches.bandcamp.com/album/garden-city

We will also have local entertainment in the Pancake Breakfast tent throughout the day, including Mariachi Tradicion Juvenil, Aztec Dance Troupe, and En Las Tables Dance School.

June 23 Schedule: