ARC After Dark extends ARC Music Festival across five nights in Chicago with Anyma, Chase & Status, Mau P, MEDUZA, Sara Landry and dozens more taking over the city’s clubs and venues.
Now, ARC After Dark stretches the experience even further. Presented by Mixmag, the 2026 programming transforms the extended festival weekend into a citywide celebration spanning some of Chicago’s most notable nightlife destinations, including Radius, Cermak Hall, Concord Music Hall, Serum, Metro, Smartbar, Smoke & Mirrors, Outset, Spybar, Castaways and the Anita Dee II.
Many artists appearing at Union Park will continue into the night with new configurations, solo sets and special collaborations, giving fans another opportunity to experience a lineup already led by names such as Anyma, Mau P, Mochakk, Sara Landry and more.
Thursday, September 3
ARC After Dark gets an early start on Thursday, one night before the festival gates officially open, with HEKATE taking over Serum featuring Sara Landry, Nicole Moudaber, Hiroko Yamamura and KYRUH. The Lab at Serum hosts Hot Meal Records with Bad Boombox and mischluft, while San Pacho takes the party aboard the Anita Dee II and AZZECCA heads to Castaways. Elsewhere, KEYSQUARED and Valeria Fride take over Smoke & Mirrors, while Luke Dean kicks off the weekend at Spybar.
Friday, September 4
Friday brings one of the weekend’s biggest collections of parties as ARC’s first day at Union Park spills into venues across Chicago. Chris Stassy (formerly Chris Stussy), Silva Bumpa, IDEMI and OD take over Radius, while Chase & Status bring their drum and bass sound to Cermak Hall. Max Dean, Tommy Phillips and Monty Kiddo head to Concord Music Hall, with MEDUZA, Korolova and GENESI taking over Serum.
Across the city, Tiga, Ben UFO and Shaun J. Wright land at Metro, while Joy Orbison, INVT and DJ Hyperactive take over Smartbar. Pegassi heads to Smoke & Mirrors, camoufly, canary yellow and Leo Kasper play Outset, and Brunello closes out Friday’s lineup at Spybar.
Saturday, September 5
Saturday keeps the momentum moving with Mau P, Paco Osuna and Obskür at Radius, while Cermak Hall goes full throttle featuring 999999999, Dax J and I Hate Models. At Concord Music Hall, salute, Derrick Carter and DJ Lady D take control, while Cloonee, Luuk Van Dijk and Roddy Lima bring house grooves to Serum.
Chicago and Detroit’s dance music legacies collide at Metro with Detroit Love and Carl Craig, K’Alexi, Moodymann, Octave One performing live and Stacey Pullen. The Blessed Madonna, DJ Heather, Colette, Dayhota and Madeline take over Smartbar, while Dubfire B2B DJ Hyperactive and Lindsey Herbert head to Smoke & Mirrors. Elsewhere, Discip plays The Lab at Serum, Omar+ takes over Spybar and nimino delivers a DJ set at Outset.
Sunday, September 6
The penultimate night of ARC’s newly expanded four-day run brings another stacked round of afterparties led by Anyma at Radius alongside a special Chris Avantgarde B2B Kevin de Vries set and Son of Son. Cermak Hall welcomes Mochakk, ANNA and nocapz., while Walker & Royce B2B VNSSA join Biscits at Concord Music Hall.
At Serum, Beltran, Ben Sterling and Silvie Loto keep the house music rolling, while The Lab at Serum hosts bullet tooth. X CLUB. B2B Sam Alfred, Club Angel and HOTPRETTY take over Smoke & Mirrors, with Jamback and Marsolo rounding out the night at Spybar.
Monday, September 7
ARC After Dark keeps the Labor Day weekend going for one final night, with Boys Noize, Adrián Mills and Fumi taking over Concord Music Hall. At Serum, Carlita, KinAhau and WhoMadeWho are set to take the night away, while Bushbaby heads to The Lab at Serum.
Elsewhere, DJ HEARTSTRING, BAUGRUPPE90 and Quest take over Smoke & Mirrors, KLOUD lands at Outset, and PNK Records closes things out at Spybar with LuSiD, Méssous X AJK, Skino & Paradis and Virago.
ARC After Dark ticket access begins Friday at 12 PM CT for ARC Presale Pass holders who purchased before March 7, followed by access for all ARC pass holders at 1 PM CT through 12 AM CT. Fans can unlock ticketing using the nine-digit Front Gate Tickets Order ID associated with their ARC pass. Codes can be used once per event and allow the purchase of up to four tickets. Head to ARC After Dark’s official page to purchase passes.