Highland Park Music Festival Celebrates 20th Year Of Free Downtown Concerts

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Highland Park’s Bitter Jester Music Festival is marking its 20th year with a series of free concerts in Downtown Highland Park, where 40 youth acts are set to compete this month.

The festival will take place at Port Clinton Square, 600 Central Ave., and will feature performers under the age of 25 from across the nation.

According to festival organizers, the event began as a small “battle of the bands” for local performers and has grown into what organizers describe as the nation’s largest live festival showcasing emerging artists under 25. Hundreds of performers from around the country applied for this year’s competition, with the top 40 selected to perform for almost $15,000 in cash and other prizes.

The preliminary concerts are scheduled for June 5, 6, 12 and 13. Multiple genres will be featured each night. One winner will be selected at each preliminary concert, and festival producers will also choose four additional wild-card acts. Those eight performers will move on to the Grand Finale Concert on June 27.

The finale will be co-hosted by Nicolas DeGrazia, an Emmy-winning TV director, Highland Park native and the festival’s founder, along with Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s “Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!” Attendees can “Come to the Finale for the music and stay to hear Peter interview performers after their sets!”

Organizers are promoting the event as both a music competition and a community outing in the heart of downtown. The festival will include food, craft beer, wine, great coffee and free parking.

The series is being billed as a chance for local audiences to discover new performers before they break through on a bigger stage.