The Forge Unveils Rock The Block Joliet Lineup

JOLIET, IL - For over the past year, The Forge has put downtown Joliet on the map as one of the hottest venues to go outside of Chicago for indoor live music concerts. It's been a remarkable success story that most people around Joliet probably don't even know.

After all, almost all of The Forge's success is due to word of mouth and having a strong presence on social media. It's located inside the Bays Professional Centre at Cass and Chicago Streets, which was the old Kline's department store building for decades. Outside of the Windy City, The Forge has become one of the most consistent venues for attracting high quality live music concerts.

Last year, its first of operation, The Forge had more than 150 shows. This year, The Forge is on pace to book more than 200 shows.

The Forge books an average of four shows a week, management officials told Joliet Patch this week.

The Forge can hold nearly 1,000 people. National acts often draw 500 to 800 people. Local music acts draw 300 to 400, which is still pretty good, Forge officials explained.

Most people who go to The Forge are between 21 and 40. On Wednesday afternoon as The Patch was taking photos outside, a twenty-something driving on Cass Street, stopped in the middle of the street and craned his head out the window. He asked The Forge if there were any live bands playing that night. There was.

"We're just trying to bring in the right acts," said Manny, one of The Forge's partners. "I do see it getting bigger. I see us doing more things. We're learning after every show to tweak things."

In three weeks, The Forge is ready to make a huge splash. And this one won't be indoors.

The Forge is presenting Rock The Block Joliet, downtown Joliet's first outdoor music festival.

Three days of outdoor live bands start Friday, June 15 and end Sunday, June 17.

Rock The Block is at the city's newly expanded downtown City Center Plaza, across from the Rialto Square Theatre, at Chicago and Van Buren Streets.

Saturday offers a trio of big-name national acts: Everclear, Marcy Playground and Local H. These days, Everclear has around 296,000 Facebook Likes. Local H around 64,000 and Marcy Playground around 62,000 Facebook Likes.

"For our first one, I think it's good lineup," Manny said. "We just want to give something back to Joliet."

The June 15 concert is 5 to 11 p.m. June 16 is 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. June 17 is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be food vendors and beer tents at Rock The Block Joliet, Forge staff assured Patch.

Ticket prices for Rock The Block Joliet are reasonable. Very reasonable.

Friday is $5. Saturday's tickets to see as many as eight different bands including three big-name bands is $15. Sunday's concert, which is Father's Day, will be free.

All the shows are free to people who work in law enforcement, serve our country in the military or work as a first responder.

To buy tickets and learn more about the bands, visit this website for Rock The Block Joliet here.

Organizers say they want to draw 40,000 to 50,000 people downtown over the course of three days.

Meanwhile, for people unfamiliar with The Forge, it's more than just a late night live music venue.

The Forge has a full-service lunch menu, open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and this is high quality food.

This Joliet Patch Editor purchased a burger and fries on Thursday, and it was delicious. It's certainly one of the best burgers around Joliet.

According to staff, daytime lunch crowds fluctuate. Some days are slow. Other days are extra busy. The Forge lunch crowd includes Joliet City Hall employees as well as Joliet Police officers.

The inside of The Forge is immaculate. Its crowned jewel is The Saphire Room, a VIP room available for private parties and special events such as bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, birthday parties and bridal showers.

To check out The Forge's full event schedule, visit their website here.

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor