Sueños returns to Grant Park for the fourth consecutive year next weekend May 24 and 25.
The festival made headlines last year after selling out tickets in five days, but also for its abrupt cancellation due to severe weather on their last day. During their inaugural weekend, the festival saw nearly 45,000 attendees, around 80,000 fans in 2023 and over 130,000 in 2024.
Gerardo Ávila, a junior at DePaul University is excited to connect with the Latine community in the Chicago area by attending the festival.
“It really brings a lot of different countries together,” Ávila said.
This year the festival is headlined by Shakira, the Colombian pop star who will be performing a two hour setlist. Peso Pluma, a Mexican corridos star returns to headline Saturday after his performance was trumped by a thunderstorm last year.
Don Omar, a reggaeton artist, and Grupo Frontera, a Mexican cumbia norteños group, are set to perform on Sunday.
Ávila shared he is most excited to see Shakira because he’s “been listening to Shakira since (he) was in diapers.”
Other notable artists include Arcángel, a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist, El Alfa, a Dominican dembow performer, Tito Double P, a rising corrido songwriter and singer, and Wisin, an artist from the reggaeton duo Wisin y Yandel.
Sueños festival goes beyond a music spectacle. The festival partners with local businesses to embrace the culture throughout the festival.
Esperanza Rosas, a local Latina artist who goes by the moniker Runsy, is joining the collaboration between Sueños and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago this year.
“Sueños is a festival that celebrates Latin beauty and Latin music,” Rosas said. “That is everything I stand for.”
Rosas shared that the collaboration started when her friend Joe Fresh Goods, a designer and creative director, introduced her to the person who manages collaborations of both Lollapalooza and Sueños.
Rosas said she is ecstatic about the partnership. “This is all authentic, this is really how I live my life, this is really what I’ve supported in the past years,” Rosas said.
Aaron Ampudia, the co-founder of the Sueños Music Festival, said that he is “very excited” to share the Runsy and the MCA collaboration with festival goers and art lovers in the city.
“Runsy is an incredible artist and we’re grateful to her for putting together a piece that speaks to our mission of uplifting Latin voices and putting on for the Latino community,” Ampudia said.
Rosas is revealing the T-shirt she designed for Sueños on May 20 at an event open to the public.
Unlike previous festivals, Sueños has yet to sell out, event organizers faced criticism after it was announced that Grupo Frontera would be in the 2025 lineup. Fans speculated that the band had supported President Donald Trump during the 2024 election.
A viral video of a band member’s grandparents celebrating Trump’s victory sparked the allegations.
The group posted on their social media accounts on Feb. 7, claiming no political party association and assuring their support of Mexican immigrants.
Despite the formal apology, fans remained unconvinced and started a petition to remove the band from the Sueños lineup.
While the petition garnered over 10,500 signatures, Grupo Frontera was not removed from the lineup.
“I was a little disappointed they weren’t removed,” Avila said. “Honestly, I’m going to use it as my bathroom break.”
In addition to the musical performances, there will be two stages this year compared to their usual one stage set up. Sueños will open their box office a day before to allow concert goers to pick up their pass to avoid waiting in long lines the day of the event. Organizers said they will also add the event and have more entrances for easier access. and to prevent long lines.
The festival has 24 restaurants available for all attendees with extra restaurants for GA+ and VIP attendees. They included 12 dessert locations with six locations specific to serving micheladas, a traditional Mexican drink made of beer, lime juice and assorted sauces.
Tickets
Tickets for the festival are still available with $360 for general admission for a two-day ticket, excluding tax. There are also one-day tickets available for approximately $199. Attendees must be 18 years or older to enter.
Parking
Parking garages near the event include Millennium Park and Lakeside garage located along Columbus Drive. The nearest train stations to the entrances are the Harold Washington stop on the Loop or the Roosevelt stop for the Orange, Red, and Green lines.
Lockers
Lockers are available for purchase, ranging from $25 to $48.50, excluding tax, depending on the number of days needed. The reservation must be made before the event and information about location and locker combination is provided 12 hours prior to the event.