Locals Vic Mensa, Jamila Woods, CupcakKe feature in Red Bull music festival

Numerous local musicians will feature prominently in Chicago’s first Red Bull Music Festival, which aims to celebrate activism and giving back, organizers announced Tuesday.

Rappers Vic Mensa and CupcakKe, and soul singer Jamila Woods, all Chicago natives, join headliners including Nas and Pusha T on the lineup for the inaugural festival, which runs from Nov. 3-30 with events across Chicago.

The program’s local-heavy lineup nods to Chicago-area musicians’ commitments to social justice, according to organizers. Vic Mensa has made headlines this summer with his SaveMoneySaveLife Foundation, which organized a back-to-school shoe donation drive in August after a bait truck filled with shoes staged by rail police in Englewood drew controversy.

Woods, a frequent Chance the Rapper collaborator, co-headlined a limited-edition album released in June that funneled half its profits to Young Chicago Authors.

Programming Highlights:

• November 1: Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label will showcase some of its talent at the Wintrust Arena, including rapper Pusha T and R&B singer Teyana Taylor.
• November 8: Vic Mensa performs at Saffron Rails, an industrial space on Goose Island.
• November 15: Black Monument Ensemble present “Where Future Unfolds – Flowers for Chicago” at Garfield Park Conservatory, a visual and musical reflection on black history in Chicago.
• November 30: Vocalist and poet Jamila Woods gives her final performance of HEAVN, her solo debut, at the Harold Washington Cultural Center Performing Arts Theatre.

See the full schedule of festival events here.