Toad the Wet Sprocket, Rusted Root coming to Naperville's Last Fling
Toad the Wet Sprocket will offer a taste of some early '90s hits over Labor Day weekend at Naperville's Last Fling festival.
Known for tunes including "Walk on the Ocean" and "All I Want" from the 1991 album "Fear," Toad the Wet Sprocket is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, on the second day of the annual end-of-summer festival.
Organizers announced the alternative rock group as one of two acts performing Saturday, along with longtime fusion rock band Rusted Root, playing at 4:30 p.m. The day's headliner has yet to be named.
While both bands have been performing since the '90s, each is touring on with some relatively new music; Toad came out with "New Constellation" in 2014 and Rusted Root released "The Movement" in 2012.
"Rock is something we've always focused on," said Danielle Tufano, a member of the Naperville Jaycees service club that plans the event. "But this year we want to try to explore different genres that we haven't seen on the Last Fling stage, at least on the main stage, for a while."
She said the Saturday headliner will continue the theme established by the music of Toad and Rusted Root, and the Jaycees hope to announce the act soon.
Announcing any Last Fling bands in April is a change for the Jaycees, which in recent years has named its concert performers in July and early August.
"We wanted to push our music announcements earlier to get a heads-up on early-bird ticket sales and online purchases," Tufano said.
Members of Toad the Wet Sprocket and Rusted Root fan clubs already are able to buy tickets through a pre-sale, but public tickets go on sale April 20 at lastfling.org. General admission costs $25 and a pit pass to be closer to the stage costs $35. After July 5, each ticket price increases $10.
The 51st annual Last Fling is scheduled to open Friday, Sept. 2, with an evening of free concerts at Rotary Hill along the Riverwalk in downtown Naperville. The festival continues through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 5, with concerts, races, a parade, family activities, a carnival and a business expo.