Warm Love Cool Dreams 2026: Day Two

Day Two of Warm Love Cool Dreams fest had huge shoes to fill hot on the heels of a stacked Day One. The Chicago sky was clear and the weather was perfect for the indoor/outdoor event that took over The Salt Shed‘s massive compound.

Starting the day off was Tobacco City, a homegrown chill band that blends classic country with hazy indie rock. As fans slowly started to fill the huge outer stage area, you could already tell the vibe was right for the final day of music.

Away from the main stage, there was a myriad of awesome things to do.

Vendors selling art filled the halls of the venue and the low buzzing of around six people all getting tattooed at the same time hummed against the music outside. Attendees then headed inside for the next act, Being Dead. They were a really fun group from Austin who were cracking jokes between garage rock head-boppers. After catching the first half of their set, I took the chance to head upstairs to the Tree Top Lounge for the second, and last, show on their rooftop stage.

The lounge itself was a really awesome, chill place to grab a drink, with a few more art vendors selling cool stuff. The stage up there was also the coolest of the entire venue, with its all-glass walls showing off Chicago’s awesome skyline in all directions. It was a sick backdrop for French-British singer-songwriter Lauren Auder, whose atmospheric art pop music felt right at home up in the sky.

Downstairs and back outside were London-based experimental squad Moin, whose set was rhythmic and hypnotic, fusing rock, noise, and electronic textures that washed over the crowd like waves on a (lake)shore. [Terrible Chicago joke…]

I decided to keep exploring and wandered into Elston Electric, The Salt Shed’s full-service arcade.

There, you could win an air conditioner by playing Skeeball. By far, the star of the fest were The Biscuits, a four-piece animatronic Misfits-adjacent band, comprised entirely of robotic dogs (formerly the Beagles at Chuck E. Cheese). They will play a set for anyone who asks the bartender to turn them on for you.

Around midday, Nourished By Time took over the big stage, taking watchers on an indie-soul-R&B odyssey of dance grooves and funky synth-pop goodness. The project, led by Marcus Brown out of Baltimore, really got the crowd moving.

After that, the crowd shifted outside once again for Toro y Moi, the chillwave sensation fronted by Chaz Bear. The set was a masterclass of genres like funk, indie, pop, psychedelic rock, house, hip hop, and soul. He also had some really cool sunglasses that ended up making for some really cool photos of the packed house reflected from his spot onstage.

The final act of the indoor stage was Chicago’s own indie folk rock band, Whitney.

Formed of former members of Smith Westerns and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Whitney‘s set was warm, lively, and nostalgic. Their music is laidback, folky, soft rock that contrasted heavily with Pixel Grip, the band who shut down this stage the night before. The juxtaposition really highlighted the festival’s immaculate lineup diversity.

For the last time, fans shuffled outside to catch the final act of the weekend, Australian indie rock singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, who brought home the festival perfectly with her witty guitar-driven slacker rock.

All said and done, Warm Love Cool Dreams was a solid weekend at a dope venue with a beautifully curated rundown of eclectic and interesting acts. The weather was great, the skyline was beautiful, and the crowd couldn’t have been better. For anyone considering going next year, I definitely recommend you do.

Photography by Sean Rider

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