It’s festival season!! Over the past several years, festivals have gotten more and more popular in the US. This year, that landscape got a significant boost by the announcement of the first Chicago Open Air Festival. This three-day event, held just north of downtown Chicago, will take place July 15-17th, and has an absolute monster lineup.

Announced in February, the festival has strong headliners anchor the weekend, as well as a contingent of great bands that are headliner quality but slotted as support. It also offers fans some rare opportunities to see bands that they don’t often have a chance to see. The lineup is so good, it merits a deep analysis, and that’s what we’ve provided below. While we can’t discuss them all, the post below breaks down bands at every tier (Headliners, Top-Tier Bands, Middle Tier bands, and Bands that Have Something to Prove). In addition, we finish the post with some lesser known bands that are absolute can’t-miss shows. Hope you enjoy!