This year, however, there will be a few changes.
The block party is moving from Hyde Park to Oakwood Beach on South 41st Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. And it’s now a ticketed event.
Early-bird tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, April 27.
When asked about the location change, Williams said the block party has outgrown the Lake Park Avenue and S. 55th Street corridor. In 2019, the year of the last block party before the global COVID-19 pandemic forced its hiatus, more than 40,000 people came out to the event.
“After being off for 2 years, and with more people coming, it wouldn’t be comfortable,” Williams said about the block party’s location in Hyde Park.
Before Hyde Park, the block party took place in Wicker Park near The Silver Room’s first storefront location at 1442 N. Milwaukee Ave. In 2015, he moved the store to 1506 E. 53rd St. in Hyde Park, and took the block party with him.
As the block party grew in attendees over the years, it became more expensive to put on. Williams said he financed The Silver Room Sound System Block Party with his own money. In the first year he threw the block party, it probably cost him about $800, Williams said in a 2019 TRiiBE article.