CHICAGO – Bands of all genres and vendors of all types gathered along Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park to celebrate the annual Wicker Park Fest on Sunday with live music, prize giveaways, and merchandise sales from local stores.
“Thanks for putting this show on and supporting free music in the streets in the summer,” said Jesse Malin, lead singer of Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social.
Musical acts ranged in genre anywhere from punk and hard rock to folk and funk. One of the more unique bands at the festival was a band from Chicago called Dastardly.
“We try to take a rootsy, country sound,” said Gabe Liebowitz, lead singer of Dastardly. “We really like Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear and some other bands, so we have a pretty open slate as far as what we listen to as long as it doesn’t suck”
Dastardly decided to play Wicker Park Fest after a recommendation from Michael Berg, the lead singer of Van Ghost, who also played at Wicker Park Fest.
“(Berg) saw us play the Whistler three or four months ago, so he sent us an email and asked us to play,” Liebowitz said. “This is our first outdoor festival, and we’re super excited about it.”
Dastardly stood out from other bands due to Liebowitz’s high energy and enthusiasm on stage. During their set, Liebowitz said things such as “we are Paul McCartney, thanks for coming out to Wrigley Field today” and “we are Chicago from Dastardly, so thanks for listening” in order to get the crowd’s attention.
“I’ve actually gotten in trouble with my band for talking my mouth off and being inappropriate and mean, especially if I drink too much sometimes,” Liebowitz said. “I just want the crowd to be on my side sometimes, but usually it works the opposite way when I talk.
In addition to Dastardly, WXRT radio-favorite Everest played one of the evening sets on the North stage.
“It’s been a great month in Chicago,” said Russell Pollard, lead singer of Everest. “We love it, and this festival is the highlight. We love being here.”
While Wicker Park Fest had three main stages, the “Kids” portion of the festival featured a side stage with acts such as Kids These Days, a jazz-infused Hip-Hop and Funk band from Chicago. In addition to Wicker Park Fest, they plan on playing Lollapalooza in August.
“We’ve been in Canada, Nebraska and Wisconsin, so it’s been a busy week for us,” said rapper Vic Mensa of Kids These Days. “This is like the millionth show we’ve played this week.”
Despite the high-energy acts, the heat caused the crowd to lose steam at times. Regardless, Malin kept it positive during his set.
“I like this heat,” Malin said. “You got to do better than that Chicago, so let’s get something going here on a sunny summer day.”
The festival was sponsored by 93XRT, Subterranean, and Big Creek Productions to name a few. Five-dollar donations were accepted at the entrances, and all proceeds went towards the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.
