For more than three decades, the Chosen Few Picnic & Festival has celebrated a collection of DJs who helped create house music in Chicago. This year, organizers made a deliberate decision to broaden that celebration, shining a spotlight on more of the city’s homegrown talent and the many sounds that have grown from house music’s roots.
Alongside the Chosen Few DJs, the 2026 festival featured Chicago ghetto house and juke pioneer DJ Slugo and South Side mixer Boolu Master.
“We deliberately made some decisions to be more inclusive to the house music crowd,” Chosen Few DJ Alan King told The TRiiBE. “We often have guests from out of town and overseas, and we’ll continue to do that. But we made it a point this year that we wanted to focus on local, so to have Slugo, have Boolu, just make sure we’re covering all aspects of Chicago house music.”
For King, the lineup reflected the festival’s continued growth since its humble beginnings behind the Museum of Science and Industry in 1990.
“This event has become bigger than us,” he said. “It means a lot to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. We never set out to have a huge music festival. It just organically has grown over the years, and we’ve done our best to be good stewards of it.”
The expanded lineup also reflected the many directions Chicago’s dance music has taken over the years. While house music remains the foundation, subgenres such as ghetto house and juke emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s, shaped by DJs who built on that original sound. By inviting Slugo and Boolu Master, organizers acknowledged that those styles are part of Chicago’s dance music legacy, too.
“It’s more versatile,” DJ Slugo said after taking the stage. “I really appreciate Wayne [Williams] and Terry [Hunter] and the whole Chosen Few crew for bringing us in. I think it was genius.”
A pioneer of Chicago’s ghetto house movement, Slugo said performing at Chosen Few was a milestone in his decades-long career.
Chosen Few DJ Terry Hunter said bringing local DJs like Slugo and Boolu Master to the festival felt like a natural extension of the event’s mission.
“Slugo and Boolu from the crib,” Hunter said. “They represent house music. Juke comes from house.”
For Slugo, born Thomas Kendricks, the moment was a milestone in an already legendary career. Once he took the stage in the early afternoon, he delivered a high-energy set that celebrated the sound he helped popularize in the 1990s as a founding member of Chicago’s Dance Mania label.
Mixing classic ghetto house and juke anthems, Slugo had festivalgoers dancing to staples including “Get Down Lil Mama,” “There’s Some Hoes in This House,” “Let’s Go to The Mo” and “Let’s Juke,” proving that the fast-paced sound remains just as infectious on the Chosen Few stage as it has been on Chicago’s dance floors for decades.
“I’m grateful to be here,” Slugo said. “It’s my first time ever playing this. I don’t think it’s my last.”
Hunter himself is a Grammy Award winner. He delivered an electric set, most notably mixing Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” into a house mix that shook the crowd. House picnic co-host LisaRaye McCoy, a South Side native known for her roles in 1998’s The Players Club and the TV sitcom “All of Us,” hyped up Hunter and the crowd during the mix.
House picnic organizers also introduced new amenities, including an expanded VIP loft, as part of their ongoing effort to reinvest in the festival experience.
“We always reinvest in the event,” King said. “We’re always thinking about what’s going to be dope for the crowd next year.”
The festival also welcomed Philly’s own DJ Jazzy Jeff for his Chosen Few debut. Although Jeff is internationally known for being one-half of the 1980s hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, alongside Will Smith, and production for artists such as Jill Scott, The Roots and more, picnic organizers said his versatility made him a perfect fit for one of house music’s most celebrated gatherings.
“Jeff is a good friend, and we’ve been trying to get Jeff for years,” King said. “A lot of people don’t know Jeff for playing house music. Obviously, he plays everything, but he can get down with some house music too.
Hunter said Jeff’s appearance had been years in the making.
“Jazzy Jeff, as many know, is like my brother,” Hunter said. “He’s been hearing about it for so many years, and now he’s here and he’s rocking.”
Jeff said he was simply honored to finally experience the festival firsthand. “I’m just happy to be here to represent,” he said. “Chosen Few DJs, man, this is legendary. I’m extremely excited to be here.”
For Hunter, the day’s celebration was also personal. He watched proudly as his son, DJ Tai, performed during the festival, the youngest DJ to ever do so. “I almost shed a tear when he was playing,” Hunter said. “It’s amazing. He’s a beast.”
