The Forever Mine Music Festival kicked off today in Chicago’s Union Park. Over two days, this new festival celebrates Chicago’s history of house music, as well as the millennium R&B sound of the early 2000s.
The festival will consist of two stages, with the main stage hosted by Chicago’s own DJ Pharris. Today’s lineup features legendary solo acts such as Juvenile, Mario, Kelly Rowland, Keyshia Cole, Monica, and more.
The second stage will showcase what some of the most talented DJs Chicago has to offer, such as Terry Hunter, DJ Slugo, Lady D and more.
Wanna groove in silence? This festival also has a silent disco, with three different DJs spinning at the same time, on three different channels so you can pick your vibe.
Summertime Chi is officially here! We’ll make sure to keep y’all updated on the action. Follow along with updates on this live page.
2:45 p.m.
Bobby Valentino hit the stage.
3:10 p.m.
In a festival with many highly anticipated performers, Bobby V held his own and showed why his run in the early 2000s was substantial.
While festival grounds continued to fill, Bobby V hit the stage with his hit “Tell Me” to start his set.
He then serenaded the crowd while playing his keyboard, playing a medley of an “Anonymous” and Usher’s “Nice and Slow.”
He closed out his set with songs like “Turn The Page,” “Slow Down,” and “Mrs. Officer” — all while professing his love for Chicago. “One of my favorite cities, R&B cities “
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle walked into the VIP section as Bobby Valentino slid into his hit feature on Lil Wayne’s “Mrs. Officer.”
“First of all, well, I’m a big fan of R&B, although, I’ll tell you, I’m a generation or two separated from most of the people in this crowd,” Preckwinkle told The TRiiBE. “But I love rhythm and blues.”
Asked what it means for festivals like Forever Mine to take place in Chicago, Preckwinkle said, “I’m really grateful to all the good people who put on our street festivals, our art fairs, our neighborhood events, and especially the people who bring music to the city.”
3:45 p.m.
The vocal prowess just went up another notch as R&B singer Lloyd opened his set with an energetic performance of “Around the World.”
He would go on to sing songs from his catalogue like “You,” R&B duet “South Side” (no surprise Ashanti appearance, though), “Players Prayer,” and “Get it Shawty.” The crowd gave him a big response for his hit with Young Money, “Bedrock.”
Lloyd didn’t stay on stage long, and he didn’t need to. He was the perfect precursor to an evening and weekend filled with incredible vocal talent.
“One of my favorite cities in the world,” Lloyd said about Chicago.
4:07 p.m.
Just as Lloyd finished his set, Chicago’s own Twista came out to give the crowd a little something. DJ Pharris asked the crowd if he could bring out his brother; then he asked DJ Ca$h Era to play something for his brother.
Twista came out rapping 2009’s “Wetter.”
4:30 p.m.
While waiting for singer JoJo’s set to begin, popular Chicago DJ Ca$h Era is keeping the party going, playing everything from R&B oldies to current R&B — and even has the crowd rocking to Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” This crowd loves music and it’s evident.
5:10 p.m.
Jukie Tha-KidD stepped real fly into the VIP section of Forever Mine Music Festival. Later tonight, he’s mixing a silent disco set at a separate festival stage.
“This is the kickstart to summertime Chi. I’m so happy to be a part of something great. This is beautiful,” Jukie told The TRiiBE.
Asked who he’s excited to see, he said Juvenile. “I ain’t gon lie. I’m excited to see Juvenile and the 400 Degree Band.”
5:15 p.m.
Across Union Park, DJ Slugo took over the second stage at the Forever Mine Music Festival. That stage has featured notable House and Ghetto House DJs throughout the day.
During his set, some Chicago festgoers hit the footwork, which amped the crowd up even more.
5:35 p.m.
Is JoJo not our generation’s Tina Marie? She came out on the Forever Mine main stage wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses with jeans. A curly ponytail, with a slick bang.
She looked great, sporting a tank top underneath and a washboard stomach — but her voice sounded even better.
One thing is clear, JoJo can sing. Unfortunately, her performance lost momentum while performing newer songs from her most recent EP, NGL. She quickly recovered, ending her set with her breakout hit “Leave (Get Out),” and “Porcelain.” Earlier in the set, she even gave the crowd “Baby It’s You,” and everyone sang along.
7:00 p.m.
Festival goers just got a show as Juvenile & the 400 Degreez Band gave the crowd a special performance laced with songs from his soulful, yet gritty hood classics.
Juvenile is a national treasure. His career has recently been rejuvenated, appearing on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert series in 2025. A memorable performance, fasho!
Today, Juvenile performed a list of jams, including “Ha,” “Set it Off,” “400 Degrees,” “Slow Motion,” and his new song with Megan Thee Stallion, “BBB.”
He also took the crowd down memory lane with “Bling Bling” “Still Fly” and “Project B–tch,” before ending the set with hits “Rodeo,” and of course, “Back That Azz Up.”
8:15 p.m.
Kelly Rowland offered up a cocktail of solo hits and nostalgic numbers from her Destiny’s Child days to round out her set. Opening with the lady’s anthem “Like This,” while stepping out in a black mini skirt and cropped top, she got the crowd into it. She heated things up with “Motivation,””Coffee,” and “Kisses down Low.” Two background singers added color and harmonies to nostalgic Destiny’s Child hits like “Soldier,” “Bootylicious,” and “Girl.” She shouted out Chicago’s George Daniels before going into “So Good.” Chicagoans also got a treat when she performed “Stole” for the first time.
Kelly’s got some banging features too. She gave us a lil taste of “Without Me” mixed with “Here We Go,” features she did with Fantasia and Trina respectively, and ended the show with her collab with Nelly, “Dilemma.” Fans sang along to the hook adoringly and she closed the show.
9:15 p.m.
Keyshia Cole came out late; there seemed to be some technical difficulties. Once she hit the stage, she got the crowd hyped singing “Last Night,” her feature with Diddy.
10:00 p.m.
As nightfall fell on the crowd at Union Park, the performance schedule caused a slight issue for festival goers. The night wrapped up with Kelly Rowland and then Keyshia Cole on the main stage.
But on the festival’s “second stage” across the park, DJ Terry Hunter had trouble gaining a good crowd, though his world-renowned career is worthy of one. His performance was scheduled at the same time as Kelly Rowland, leaving him without much of a crowd to enjoy his set.
Just before Keyshia Cole took to the main stage, a party was brewing over at the Hennessy Social Club as Englewood’s Lil M.U. performed her popular 2025 song, “Top of Cars.”
DJ WayneInDisThang made an interesting choice while warming the crowd up for Keyshia Cole at the main stage. He played the intro to controversial Chicago artist R Kelly’s “Bump n Grind.” The Oklahoma DJ quickly stopped the track after saying, “I’m trippin’.”
Keyshia then hit the stage, singing the hit single “Last Night” accompanied by four backup dancers dressed in all black. She went through her jams, including “(I Just Want It) To Be Over,” and “I Should Have Cheated,” before abruptly leaving the stage for reasons unknown.
While Keyshia was off stage for about 10 minutes, her DJ began to play more of her songs: ”Playa Cardz Right” featuring a posthumous 2Pac, and “Give It Up To Me,” her 2005 track with Sean Paul.
She returned to the stage, singing “Enough of No Love,” and a rendition of “Sent from Heaven,” which she interestingly wove into the Walter Hawkins gospel hit, “Thank You.”
Despite what seemed like technical difficulties, Keyshia Cole ended her set strongly with “Trust,” “Should’ve Let You Go,” and her generational hit, “Love.”
