For three days in July, Chicago Avenue felt unmistakably like West Town.

West Fest returned July 17 through 19, stretching between Wood Street and Damen Avenue with live music, DJs, local food, vendors, Kid Fest and Pet Fest. The festival brought together two musical worlds, with the Empty Bottle curating the East Stage and Bass By The Pound programming the West Stage.

West Town shares some DNA with nearby Wicker Park, but the feeling on the street is different.

Wicker Park can feel polished even when it is trying not to be—stylish, vintage-minded and carefully put together. West Town feels a little less controlled. There is more of a rough edge to it, a sense of independence and looseness that gives the neighborhood its own character.

At West Fest, that translated into a crowd and atmosphere that felt colorful, expressive and slightly unpredictable. There was something almost frontier-like about it—not in a literal Western sense, but in the feeling of people making their own space and doing things their own way. It was still unmistakably hip, just without needing to look too polished.

The music reflected that personality unusually well.

On the East Stage, the Empty Bottle presented an eclectic live lineup that included Model/Actriz, NUXX, Stuck, Facing, Junglepussy, Alice Longyu Gao, Downtown Boys and Hunx and His Punx. Stuck and Facing, both appearing Saturday, fit naturally into the festival’s less-polished side: loud, immediate live music surrounded by the movement of Chicago Avenue rather than separated from it inside a traditional venue.

At the opposite end of the festival, the West Stage belonged to DJs. Bass By The Pound assembled a lineup deeply connected to Chicago dance music, including DJ Sneak, Tyree Cooper, Diz, DJ Heather, Jevon Jackson, Derrick Carter and DJ Jes. On Saturday afternoon, DJ Jes was part of a run that eventually led into DJ Sneak, while Derrick Carter closed the festival Sunday night.

The result was not one uniform soundtrack. Walking through West Fest meant moving between live bands and house music, with the neighborhood itself connecting the two.

West Fest also extended far beyond its stages. Restaurants, artists, makers and local businesses filled Chicago Avenue, while separate Kid Fest and Pet Fest areas made the event feel as much like a neighborhood gathering as a music festival.

That mixture might be what makes the event work.

West Fest does not seem particularly interested in smoothing out West Town’s edges. Instead, it puts them on display: independent music, Chicago house, small businesses, families, dogs, artists and an unusually free-form crowd all sharing the same stretch of street.

For a summer weekend, Chicago Avenue did not feel transformed into something else.

It simply felt like West Town, turned all the way up.