Community Plans For Next Week's Mumford & Sons Concert

As was announced last April, Mumford & Sons will be playing at Montrose Beach on June 17th.  Last night there was a meeting with the police, the promoter, and the alderman to explain the logistics. A resident who was in attendance sent out this summary:

"Dear Friends & Neighbors,

Some of you may have heard that there is going to be a major concert happening next week, and that would be true.  The folk/rock group Mumford & Sons will be performing to a sold out crowd at Montrose Beach on Wednesday, June 17th.

Yesterday, I attended a community meeting held by our alderman’s office, where a representative from JAM Productions was present to answer questions and address concerns from the community regarding the upcoming concert.

• They are expecting 35,000 ticket holders to attend, but in my opinion, you can count on a large number of people to show up, just to hang out outside the concert area to hear the music, so that number will go up dramatically. 
• The concert will begin at 6:00 PM and end promptly at 10:00 PM.
• The gates open to ticket holders at 3:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon.
• It sounds like the stage is not going to be set up on Cricket Hill as reported in some news outlets, but set up in the park just east of Cricket Hill (Montrose & Simmonds).  The stage will face northeast so the sound should travel over the lake not into the city.  The promoter also feels that Cricket Hill will also dampen any sound going towards the neighborhood.
• Set up for the show will begin on Saturday, June 13, and they will have everything removed from the park by noon on Friday, June 19.
• Any damage done to the park will be the responsibility of JAM productions to fix and repair.

The biggest concern of the community was the impact of such a large number of people coming into the neighborhood.  The promoter and the alderman’s office recognize this; they are working with the city to make sure it is as painless for the community as possible.  Here are some of the solutions discussed.

• The promoter has announced on their web site that parking at the site is very limited and is encouraging ticket holders to take mass transit to the show.
• Working with CTA to have additional buses and trains available that day.
• Additional Traffic Management personal have been hired to facilitate the flow of both pedestrian and car traffic. They will at all the major intersection in the neighborhood.
• Extra police will be in the area to deal with any issues that may arise.
• JAM Productions has contacted all the parking garages in the neighbor and will be listing those locations on the company’s web site.  He was not able to answer my question of whether LAZ has been contacted regarding our visitor parking spaces, but I am guessing they have been contacted.
• They are providing 5000 spots for bike parking located near the concert area.

I am recommending we take a page out of the Boys Scout manual, “Always be prepared”.  No matter how much planning the promoter and alderman’s office have done, things will not run as smoothly as they hope. Please consider the following:

• If you do not have to drive on Wednesday, June 17, do not.  If you do need to use your car that day, be prepared for the fact you may have to show your id to get into the neighborhood, that afternoon & evening.
• What little parking we have in the neighborhood will be gone, so if you do not need to move your car, do not move it.
• CTA Buses will be more crowded and running slower than usual, plan your travel accordingly.

This announcement is going today out so everyone is aware of a major event that will directly affect our neighborhood.  I will send out another email early next week reminding everyone of the upcoming concert; but I wanted everyone to have as much information now, so you can be prepared."

There are also articles in the Tribune (Mumford & Sons Chicago Concert Sparks Residents' Concerns) and DNAinfo (5,000 Bicycles Expected at Mumford and Sons Show at Montrose Beach).