The Forge's Rock The Block Music Festival This Weekend

JOLIET, IL - Weekends in downtown Joliet have been crazy busy this month. It began June 2 with Star Wars Day. Last Friday night marked New Orleans North. Last Saturday was the Paws On Route 66 pet rescue event. But this weekend will be like no other. Rock'n roll music, high caliber rock'n roll music, will be playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the city's outdoor plaza at the corner of North Chicago and East Van Buren Streets.

Rock The Block was the brainchild of The Forge, which is located inside the Bays Professional Centre at the corner of Chicago and Cass Streets. The Forge opened in April 2017 and has quickly emerged as one of the most popular live music venues outside the City of Chicago.

Tickets for Rock The Block are reasonably priced.

It's only $5 for Friday night's show featuring Rockstar Rodeo, Kashmir and Blackened.

Saturday's concert begins at 11 a.m. and remains free for music fans until 4 p.m. Saturday's lineup includes a Poison tribute band, Dirty Talk, an AC/DC tribute band, Done Dirt Cheap, plus Tynan and Burning Bridges.

For anyone who comes to Rock The Block after 4 p.m., tickets are $15.

Local H will play from around 7:50 p.m. to 8:35 p.m., Marcy Playground from 8:50 to 9:40 p.m. and Everclear will take the stage at 10 p.m.

Sunday's close-out concert featuring Midnight, Pearl, South City Revival and Shindig is free.

Also, there is no charge on all three days for members of law enforcement, military and emergency first-responders. They just need to furnish their ID to get in at no cost.

Promoters at The Forge say they intend to draw 40,000 to 50,000 music fans to downtown Joliet over the three-day haul this weekend.

They want to remind everyone that downtown parking is free on weekends, and Rock The Block is an all ages music festival.

The outdoor music festival takes place about a block from The Forge, but it's easy to find. The stage will be set up at the plaza across the street from the historic Rialto Square Theatre.

On Wednesday, Joliet Patch interviewed Nicci, The Forge's marketing director and booking assistant.

"We hope this is going to be an annual event. We want it to be fun for families and kids of all ages," she said. "There's going to be a variety of food trucks and different vendors."

There will also be plenty of beer. And of course, Everclear.

Nicci expects downtown Joliet will be rocking like never before.

To have three highly successful rock bands from the 1990s all taking the stage on Saturday night will be a huge event for Joliet. "It's a great event for the music scene because all three days we have local tribute bands and some are pretty huge like Kashmir and Blackened playing Friday night," she remarked.

"It should be a big hit. We want to spread the word about The Forge and downtown Joliet as a whole."

In its opening year, 2017, The Forge featured around 150 live music acts. This year, The Forge is on pace to host at least 200 live concerts. The Forge averages four shows per week, usually national acts.

The Forge has developed a loyal fan base from the Joliet area and Chicago's south suburbs.

"We've been rapidly growing and expect to triple the amount of events for next year," Nicci explained Wednesday. "People are coming and having a great experience and word of mouth is traveling.

"A lot of people are excited to see these huge bands come to such an intimate space as opposed to a large venue where you can hardly see the stage."

If there's something we forgot to mention about Rock The Block, don't fret.

Here's the link to The Forge's Rock The Block website. It has everything you need to know. Everything.

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor