Spring Awakening Music Festival (SAMF) 2013 took place June 14–16 at Chicago’s Soldier Field and has become a defining moment in EDM festival history. The festival’s throwback lineup featured headliners Bassnectar, Calvin Harris, and Moby DJ, with over 100 artists across multiple stages including Zedd, Zeds Dead, Krewella, Porter Robinson, Nicky Romero, and more.
A recent Reddit post in r/festivals shared a vintage 2013 SAMF poster, sparking a wave of nostalgia from fans who called it their first EDM fest experience. The community reflected on the era’s vibe and how artists like Bassnectar once outshone bigger names such as Calvin Harris, highlighting the shifting tides of EDM fame over time.
Many users lamented the festival’s eventual discontinuation and changes over the years:
- The fest moved parks in 2015
- Despite plans for a 2022 event at United Center, it was canceled
- Fans expressed wishes to relive moments like “2013 Krewella” sets and early festival T-shirt buys
This buzz underlines SAMF’s role in shaping EDM fandom, its connection to community memories, and a collective longing to see the festival’s energy resurrected.
For deeper history, SAMF expanded from a one-day event in prior years to a full three-day festival in 2013, drawing over 75,000 attendees. The event’s popularity and artist roster demonstrated Chicago’s importance in the EDM festival circuit of the time, with a unique flavor that fans still cherish nearly a decade later.
Fans looking back on this snapshot often say it was more than a lineup—it was where their musical identity was born, amplified by a crowd and culture that defined an EDM golden age.
Source: r/festivals