South Side native Robin Lee described the 2025 Chosen Few Picnic & Festival as the “Woodstock of house music.” Dressed in a custom pair of distressed high-waisted jeans, which she herself altered into shorts with dramatic fringe tassels, Lee busted a move or two near the food court inside the festival while power vocalist Ann Nesby belted out the 1991 contemporary gospel jam “Optimistic” on the stage. Nesby is known as the former lead singer of the popular group Sounds Of Blackness, the Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble who gave us multiple Black cook-out hits like “Optimistic,” 1992’s “Soul Holidays,” 1994’s “I Believe,” and 1997’s “Hold On (Change Is Comin’).”
“I come here and I get my life back. No matter how I’m feeling before I get here, I leave lifted and I feel free and light,” Lee said.
With over 20,000 people in attendance at Jackson Park, the festival celebrated its 35th anniversary this year. The original members of the Chosen Few DJs (Wayne Williams, Jesse Saunders, Alan King, Tony Hatchett, Andre Hatchett, and longtime friend Kim Parham) started the picnic in July 1990. What started as a small gathering of friends and family behind the Museum of Science and Industry is now the largest and longest-standing house music festival in the world.
For Chicago, the house picnic is a Summertime Chi staple with plenty of barbecue, dancing and family vibes to go around.
“Chosen Few is a staple, a staple where people from all over come to party at this picnic each and every year, and it’s a representation of what we started and what we continue to grow to this day,” Power 92’s DJ Pharris said. He began his career in 1986 at Chicago’s WBMX radio station playing house music.
“House music is Chicago, you know, that’s where I came from. That’s where I originated from,” he said.
As you enter the festival, there are hundreds of pop-up canopies with families underneath them, laughing, playing cards, enjoying barbecue and having a good time. It’s reminiscent of a sports tailgate; some groups of attendees even arrived as early as 6:00 a.m. to set up grills of all sizes. Depending on which canopy you walked by, the scene also felt like a college reunion, with sororities and fraternities sporting their greek affiliations.
Mike Tekhstrode, 45, is originally from New Orleans but has resided on Chicago’s Southeast Side since 2005. Being from NOLA, Tekhstrode said house music is what made him feel the most at home in Chicago.
“When I came up here in 2005, it was a welcoming space that actually created a space of belonging for me,” he said.
Tekhstrode sported a colorful Kente-inspired African shirt that he bought from Kayra Imports – African Clothing & Fabric Store on the South Side. His outfit stood out alongside others who donned traditional African patterns and face paints.
He also mentioned Thee Debauchery Ball, a tasteful erotically-themed party, and The Shrine as important places of liberation for him in the city. The Shrine was particularly known for its popular house music nights, hosted by DJs Terry Hunter and Greg Winfield, but it shut down in 2016 after a shooting took place outside the venue.
“These are all places that created a space where I could feel very comfortable moving my body, getting physical,” he said. “That’s what Chosen Few means to me. It’s part of that tradition.”
Sharon Daniel, of Chicago’s South Side, gave a mix of “Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter western flair meets Baby Huey,” comically describing her stylish high-waisted balloon mini skirt as a diaper. She was among dozens of ladies wearing their “Boots on the Ground” attire, with accordion hand fans, colorful dresses, straw hats and sunglasses to match.
Guys in attendance wore everything from sports jerseys and Chicago T-shirts to house music merch; some went shirtless in the humid heat.
“I’m glad to see everybody still alive, walking and talking and listening to amazing music,” she said.
Actor and comedian Deon Cole is a well-known house head. The South Side native hosted this year’s picnic, dancing and visibly enjoying the DJ lineup. Back in July 2024, he dropped a house track with Chosen Few DJ Terry Hunter, titled “Post That.” They performed it last year.
When Chosen Few DJ Wayne Willams took the stage around 6:50 p.m for his hour-long set, the crowd roared. His setlist included the 1986 track “The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body)” by deep house legend Marshall Jefferson.
Many Chicago notables came out to celebrate. NBA legend Tim Hardaway was chilling out backstage. Grammy Award-winning poet and author J. Ivy was onstage having a good time with his family.
Robbin Kent, daughter of the late storied Chicago disc jockey Herb “The Cool Gent” Kent, was honored, celebrating her father’s legacy and contributions to the culture.
Mike Love, current V103 radio host and one-half of WGCI’s beloved “Bad Boys” of the 1990s and 2000s, was catching a vibe backstage as well.
“House music and Chicago are synonymous,” he said. “To be able to be here and be a part of it, it’s everything. Just to be alive and just be in the circle and around the people. It’s always love.”
The highlight of the night was when three-time Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Terry Hunter hit the stage around 7:45 p.m. Anticipation grew and people cheered as Hunter started his set with “In the Beginning (There Was Jack)” by beloved house pioneer Chuck “The Voice” Roberts, who passed away in June 2024.
Hunter then went on a monstrous run, mixing hits like Stevie Wonder’s “As,” Prince’s “When Dove’s Cry,” and Heatwave’s “Always and Forever” into house records, sparking the spirit of dance within the crowd.
Some of the best traits a DJ can have is unpredictability and originality. All of the Chosen Few DJs have a uniqueness to them. Each of them play records that we love and behold in the Black community, but when they mix them into dance tracks, it’s an unexpected breath of fresh air, giving new life to older R&B, gospel and disco classics.
“Chicago is beautiful,” Hunter told The TRiiBE right before his set. “It’s about 20,000 or 30,000 people out there. We did this from nothing, and I’m just super proud, bro. Super proud.”
