NASCAR Chicago music: Sparse crowds see the big acts at Street Race
Even before attendance numbers for the 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race were released, one thing was clear over the weekend: Barely anyone showed up for the music.
The organization nabbed topline entertainment in its second year — among the list, leading country star Keith Urban, DJ duo du jour The Chainsmokers, “American Idol” alum Lauren Alaina and blues rock bigwigs The Black Keys. Yet, the crowds heading to Festival Field were a tiny fraction of what similar large events like Lollapalooza are able to draw in the same park. Small beer lines, spots to sit in the shade and actual phone signals are foreign concepts to anyone who’s had to tap into survival skills at a headlining set at Lolla. Yet, at the Street Race, they were commonplace.
“I’m surprised there’s not more people here, but I’m excited to be up close,” said Kelly Lulay, who drove in from Aurora to see Keith Urban. “If this was Soldier Field, you’d pay a fortune to be this close.”
Will and Kevin Brown, brothers from Elmhurst and Wheaton, respectively, believe that the choice of headliner may have deterred people. “The music was great — I love Keith Urban — but he was not the guy to warm up the crowd. … They needed someone louder and harder, something to match the engines and gasoline, more oomph,” said Will.
“I thought he was going to play after the race, which would’ve been much better,” added Kevin, calling the 1 p.m. headlining set time Sunday “very lame.”
NASCAR officials did not respond Sunday to a request for comment on concert crowd sizes.
“Our husbands came for NASCAR, we came for the music,” joked Lynne Roche, from Chicago. When she and her daughter Maggie saw months ago that Lauren Alaina was announced as entertainment, “we were all in,” Lynne said.
Others were unaware who was plugging in at the event until it was almost too late. “We didn’t know who was playing until we looked at the website this morning,” said Tim Korpolewski, from Chicago, who was also shocked by how small the crowd was for Keith Urban.
Even with how large the footprint of the Street Race is, spanning from Butler Field on the north side to the softball fields in south Grant Park, there was no visible signage offering information on the entertainment and set times.
Some, like Scott Trybula from Evergreen Park, said the music didn’t add anything to the weekend’s festivities as it was; his family skipped the concerts altogether to cool off in their hotel before taking in the Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series Race. “We came here more for the drivers and the different activations.”
His suggestion for the music? Focus on more local acts. “If you’re here to showcase the city, showcase artists from the city, somebody like The Smashing Pumpkins maybe. At least they had Buddy Guy yesterday.”
His wife, Valerie agreed, “I think the music missed the mark completely to appeal to a Chicago audience. … Country music is not a big part of Chicago. They’re appealing more to the Southern NASCAR audience with the music rather than our tastes.”