MLS All Star Week: Sweet Home Chicago

The main event, the summer blockbuckster, and the moment I had always been waiting for.  Back in the beginning of the year when I first heard whispers of Chicago being the host city for the MLS All Star Game, I immediately got super excited.  Hosting the game here in the Windy City is a bit like being a part of the soccer circus for one week.  The game doesn’t necessarily mean anything in league performances, but the celebration and pageantry of soccer in the city gives the sport here an added lens of focus that maybe wouldn’t be here normally.

Since a lot of my work goes towards the Chicago Fire here, it felt really natural to dive into this opportunity, inquiring about where I may fit in as a musical support to the positive celebration of soccer.  Thankfully, I got a great response from the league, as well as other groups activating around the event.

When it was all said and done, I was invited to help soundtrack collaboration between MLS x La Liga (Spanish First Division) for a joint Watch Party for the Chicago Fire and Real Madrid.  Though these were two separate matches, they lined up back to back.

Right before the All-Star Game, I also got to collaborate with Chicago’s Supporters’ Section 8 for their pre-game tailgate.  This was a joint event with Continental Tire, and their brand representative rEvolution. It was an honor to support all my Chicago friends as they prepared for the big match.

By far the biggest (in scale and size) was the MLS Beach Soccer Event with CivitasNow.  Held on North Avenue Beach at the iconic venue Castaways, the league handed over audio control to me for a day of sun, sand, and soccer.  As the event pushed on I also got to test my mic skills, interviewing MLS Stars like Brian Ching, Dax Mccarty, Greg Garza and Kaka. 

As a life-long fan, the whole day was a twenty-four hour dream.  Infusing music into sports events has long since been a goal of mine since getting in to DJing, but MLS Beach Soccer seemed to be the peak of all I’ve worked for in the last 2-3 years. I’m proud to have been a part of the event this year, and hope to use this as a springboard to create and re-imagine the way people think of sports and music as one touchpoint into creative expression.

Check out the Gallery & Recap Video from the Beach party below!

Photography: Caleb Zahm
Videography: Danny Blanco
Editor: Evan Brown