The Naper Nights Concert Series wraps up August 21-22
The final weekend of the Naper Nights Concert Series will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22 at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St. in Naperville. Friday night features Heartless, a Heart tribute band, and headliners Mike & Joe, who are one of the area's premier party bands playing the hits and timeless favorites from the '90s to today. Saturday features Simply Deacon Productions kicking off the evening with opening act Deacon Blues, a Steely Dan tribute band, followed by keyboardist Brian Harris playing tribute to the one-and-only Sir Elton John as Simply Elton.
Food vendors are Kick's Chicken of Naperville, Joey's Red Hots, Culver's and Nothing Bundt Cakes; beverages are provided by Two Brothers Brewing Co. and Wente Vineyards. The featured nonprofit partner for the weekend is Blessings in a Backpack, which provides elementary schoolchildren who are on the federal free and reduced price meal program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. Blessings in a Backpack will be accepting monetary donations, as well as non-perishable, child-friendly food including, but not limited to, granola bars, raisins, apple sauce, crackers, macaroni and cheese, soups and more.
The social media Trivia Challenge returns with more rock music brain teasers. The Infiniti of Naperville free children's activities area features Pinot's Palette with canvas painting, Lowe's with monster truck building kits and Engineering for Kids with mini greenhouses on Friday and balloon cars on Saturday. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 youth 4-12, members are free. More information and tickets are available at www.napernights.org.
Kicking off the concert on Friday is opening act Heartless, a band that pays tribute to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Heart, composed of sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, who topped the charts in the 1970s with hits like "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," "Barracuda" and many more. Lynn Lupo of Heartless, the "Ann Wilson" of the tribute band, has performed everything from classical to classic rock at a variety of venues throughout the Midwest. Lupo and manager Bob Roberts formed Heartless in 2008.
"Our goal was to bring together musicians who were not only skilled players, but who also had a love and understanding of Heart's classic sound - both the rock and the acoustic side. Through networking within the Chicago area music community, we found a great lineup including our 'Nancy Wilson,' Sandy DeCraene," Lupo said.
Their show will take the audience through the decades of Heart songs, from the '70s classics like "Dreamboat Annie" to their more current songs.
Friday night's headliners Mike & Joe feature four musicians: Mike Notaro, Joe Valentino, Cory Flynn and Aaron Streich, who will play a mix of music, some '90s and some tunes from the 2000s. Mike and Joe started out as an acoustic duo at Indiana University where they were fraternity brothers and met in the chapter house.
"We write a new set list every night, so we will have to see how we are feeling that night!" the duo said. "We know there are tons of Mike & Joe fans in Naperville."
Deacon Blues founder Steve Kikoen and Harris have partnered to bring audiences Saturday night's opening act Deacon Blues and headliner Simply Elton. Harris quipped that the evening will be "The Prince of Pop meets the Kings of Cool."
"In addition be being 'Simply Elton' and doing all the Elton music, antics, costumes and more, I will also perform in the Donald Fagen role in Deacon Blues, so this will be quite an evening for me, doing double duty," Harris said.
There are several volunteer opportunities still available. To find out how you can help, email nsvolunteer@naperville.il.us or call (630) 305-5256.
About Naper Settlement and the Naperville Heritage Society
Naper Settlement is a nationally accredited, award-winning outdoor museum set on 12 magnificent acres in the heart of Naperville. Our grounds are where history comes to play and community comes to connect. With a commitment to the community and a focus to the future, the mission of the Naperville Heritage Society, administrator of Naper Settlement, is to collect, document, preserve and support the history of Naperville, Illinois, past and present. For more information, visit www.napersettlement.org or call (630) 420-6010.