A band that is garnering national and international attention thanks to a European tour with pop-punk royalty will perform at this year’s Summer Solstice Indie Music Festival in Yorkville.
The festival runs from 5 to 11 p.m. June 21 and 3 to 11 p.m. June 22 at Bicentennial Riverfront Park in Yorkville.
The Vandoliers, a Texas band that opened for Bowling for Soup and Less Than Jake on their European tour in February, performs at 8 p.m. June 21. They’re part of a lineup that includes Silverada, Elizabeth Cook, Rob Leines, Taylor Hunnicutt, Jason Eady, Midnight River Choir, John Till, Eli Howard and Greater Good, Tony Logue and the 184 and the Jeff Bearcat Bunch.
This is the festival’s 11th year, said organizer Boyd Ingemunson, owner of Rogue Barrister Records and the Law Office Pub and Music Hall in Yorkville. Last year was the first time the festival charged a ticket price. That was in part to attract bigger-named acts, he said.
The festival is curated in part by the band Silverada — formerly Mike and the Moonpies — who also headline each night.
“We’ve kind of raised the bar on the event to be more of the traditional festivals you’re seeing pop up,” Ingemunson said. “Especially with these Americana and outlaw country artists. With Sturgill Simpson and Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers, you’re seeing this huge movement of Americana and country artists. The reach of these artists now, it’s astounding to see. So the festival has kind of evolved to be more in line with what you’re seeing in music festivals in general.”
Fun fact — Sturgill Simpson played the very first Summer Solstice Festival and he’s since gone on to play “Austin City Limits” and win a Grammy award for Best Country Album in 2017.
The only way to compete with festivals is to raise ticket prices to pay the bands people want to see, Ingemunson said.
“That was a big leap last year to transition to that type of format,” he said. “The performances are better. Just the overall vibe of the festival is better. It’s more cohesive. This year, the bar has been raised even higher.”
He’s very excited to have nabbed Elizabeth Cook, who hosts a show called “Elizabeth Cook’s Apron Strings” on the Sirius XM radio station, Outlaw Country.
“She’s been on the Grand Ole Opry over 400 times, she’s been on the ‘Letterman’ show four times,” he said. “She’s so well-known within the industry and she’s a fantastic performer, too.”
It’s the same independent festival but ramped up with talent and a professional stage, he said.
“There’s a new part of the park called Riverfront Park East that both Summer Solstice and Oktoberfest utilizes. It’s just a beautiful area of the park right along the river,” he said. “It’s a beautiful setting.”
VIP ticket holders can attend exclusive after-shows at the Law Office Pub, he said, with host bands Memphis Kee June 21 and Drew Cooper June 22, he said.
“Last year, what we found is that the bands all migrated to hang out at the Law Office after the festival,” he said. “It seemed logical to have two of the bands that played last year host the after show and then have some collaborations and special guests, all at the Law Office in a very intimate environment.”
Food vendors at the music fest include Rosati’s Pizza, Grandma Rosie’s Sweet Treats, Alfie’s Barbecue and Freaky Fries.
Despite charging a ticket fee last year, he surprisingly received very little negative feedback.
“I knew going to a ticketed format we would see a drop-off in attendance and that was totally expected,” he said. “But the numbers were solid last year. I’m excited to see what the future holds as far as the inroads we’ve made bringing very high-quality music to Yorkville.
“The industry is very difficult to make a lot of inroads with competing with major festivals in Chicago and the Chicago music scene. But through the Law Office and all the bands we’ve met there, we’re starting to make inroads with bigger bands and if we can continue the progress, it feeds off itself with the success.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
Summer Solstice Indie Music Festival
When: 5-11 p.m. June 21 and 3-11 p.m. June 22
Where: Bicentennial Riverfront Park, 301 E. Hydraulic St, Yorkville
Tickets: $30-$150; children 14 and under free with parent
Information: 630-882-9559; solsticemusicfest.com
