Auris Launches TRANSITIONS: Chicago’s 7-Day NYE Takeover

Windy City Raves
Auris Launches TRANSITIONS: Chicago’s 7-Day NYE Takeover

Chicago is closing out 2025 with a serious upgrade. Auris Presents, the team behind ARC Music Festival and some of the city’s biggest dance moments, has officially revealed TRANSITIONS — a brand-new weeklong New Year’s celebration running from December 26, 2025 through January 1, 2026. The announcement has already sparked major buzz across the city, promising a year-end experience unlike anything Chicago has ever seen.

If you’re the kind of person who celebrates New Year’s like it’s a competitive sport, this is your Super Bowl. TRANSITIONS aims to stretch festival culture across an entire week, blending club energy, immersive storytelling, and world-class production into one continuous, city-wide celebration.

Seven Days. Seven Venues. Seventy Artists. One Storyline.

Rather than hosting a single New Year’s Eve show, TRANSITIONS transforms the week into a narrative-driven journey. Each night unfolds inside one of Chicago’s signature venues — Radius, Cermak Hall, Concord, Prysm (SERUM), Outset, Smoke & Mirrors, and Spybar — with every location aligned to a different stage of transformation, flowing from solid → liquid → vapor.

The concept draws inspiration from Underground Resistance’s classic “Transition,” bringing its message of movement, change, and forward momentum into a modern festival context. Attendees will follow a complete artistic and musical arc designed to launch them into 2026 with intention.

Let’s Talk Lineups — Because They’re Stacked

Auris Presents didn’t hold back on talent. Radius leads the charge with a powerhouse roster featuring Chris Lorenzo, Cloonee, Four Tet, Dylan Brady, Beltran, and even a special appearance from Chris Lake, making the venue one of the hottest stops of the week. The party peaks with a massive Defected takeover starring Purple Disco Machine, Claude VonStroke, and Never Dull.

Cermak Hall pushes into deeper territory with Azzecca’s Cosimea, AYYBO, Chloé Caillet, and Floorplan, along with a thunderous Kobosil B2B Cera Khin. Over at Concord, things stay high-energy and genre-bending with Soulection’s Andre Power, Matroda, and AIROD B2B HHUNTER.

Chris Lake · Savana

Since Chris Lake is one of the standout artists touching the TRANSITIONS week, his track “Savana” felt like the perfect musical break to drop into the article — a preview of the energy he’s bringing to Chicago.

The action continues at Prysm’s SERUM room with a melodic-meets-techno lineup featuring Bart Skills, Pleasurekraft, Hannah Laing, Ben Klock, and ANNĒ, plus Yotto presents ANTI and a special Farris Wheel NYE takeover with Gene Farris & Shiba San.

Smoke & Mirrors dives into the industrial and left-field realm with Perc Trax (Perc and Selective Response) and TRUST artists Black Light Smoke, Patrixia, and Echodroides. Spybar keeps the late-night chaos topped up with CHKLTE, Pauza, GENESI, and Matt Sassari, while Outset hosts a vibrant and high-energy Boots NYE with Boots, Miss Toto, and Kirk B2B Miss B Haven.

The Grand Finale: DAY ONE Returns

Every Chicago raver knows DAY ONE, Auris’ legendary New Year’s Day marathon — and it’s back with even more force. On January 1, Prysm will open its doors for 21 straight hours of house and techno featuring Adam Beyer, Derrick Carter, DJ Tennis, Kevin de Vries, Kyle Watson, Noizu, and ChaseWest, with more names still to drop.

If you’ve ever wanted to start your year by dancing until you forget what daylight looks like… this is your moment.

Why This Year Matters for Auris

2025 marks a major milestone for Auris Presents, celebrating five years of ARC Music Festival and hosting more than 500 shows across Chicago — including Navy Pier Open Air and The July 4th Weekender. TRANSITIONS feels like the next evolution: a large-scale, city-wide anchor event that fuses club culture, festival production, and immersive creative storytelling.

Tickets, Presale, and Everything You Need to Know

Presale: Thursday, October 16 @ 10 AM CT
General On-Sale: Thursday, October 16 @ 12 PM CT
Age: 21+

For tickets and more info, visit AurisPresents.com.

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.