McHenry Music Festival stage location, size shifting to enhance audience experience
Those who don’t already have their tickets for the McHenry Music Festival taking place Sept. 12-14 at Petersen Park may want to start clicking those keyboards.
This year’s lineup of more than a dozen national acts has proven highly popular, said Wayne Jett, co-founder and president of the foundation that gave rise to the McHenry Music Festival. This year’s headlining acts include MCA Nashville artist Sam Hunt Friday night, reggae-rock band Slightly Stoopid Saturday night and fast-rising country music singer-songwriter Bailey Zimmerman Sunday night.
Other performers in the lineups include Zach Miller, Ingrid Andress, Redferrin and Dustin Lynch Friday night; The Expendables, The Elovaters and Dirty Heads Saturday night; and Bella Cain, Bryan Martin and Flo Rida Sunday night. Ticket prices start at $49. Full details are available at mchenrymusicfest.com.
As of mid-August, tickets for Saturday’s reggae, rock, funk, hip-hop, ska and surf rock performances were nearly sold out, Jett said. And tickets for the Friday and Sunday acts also were selling briskly.
“Honestly, our lineup is equivalent to that of major festivals around the country,” said Jett, who is also mayor of McHenry. “Bringing in the reggae night is something different that people can’t find much in Illinois, and, according to our ticket sales, it’s proving to be a hit.”
The McHenry Music Festival, formerly RISE Up, first started bringing national acts to Petersen Park in 2020, with proceeds earmarked for desired community projects. It has drawn crowds of 22,000 to 30,000 people annually, with the exception of 2021, when the fest took a one-year hiatus. Upgrades to the stage’s size and location this year should prove exceptionally popular with both musicians and audiences, Jett said.
“Our old stage was roughly 25 feet by 50 feet,” he said. “This year’s stage with platforms is roughly 120 feet by 60 feet. We’ve added video walls to the sides of the stage with live cameras for better viewing.”
Also enhancing viewing will be the stage’s new location in the area where the Fiesta Days carnival takes place, north of the railroad tracks and west of Petersen Park Road.
“It’s going to cost an additional $100,000 for us to enclose the area, but we will be able to accommodate more people more comfortably and with better line of sight,” he said. “It’s wider. It’s just going to be an all-around better experience.”
Both Jett and Mike Mrachek, a McHenry fest volunteer heavyweight, said the countless hours that they and about 498 other volunteers put into the McHenry Music Festival is well worth it.
“Yes, it’s a lot of work,” Mrachek said. “But I think the biggest part is the result. It brings our community together.”
Jett said the fest has raised almost $1.4 million to date, with proceeds used to fund the Fort McHenry splash pad, the amphitheater at Miller Point and a special needs playground at Veterans Memorial Park. Proceeds from this year’s fest are earmarked for a bike park pump track east of the existing skate park, west of city hall.
Generous sponsor support — to the tune of about $400,000 annually — has combined with volunteer, performer and fan support to make the McHenry Music Festival what it has become, Jett said.
“It’s a $3 million show this year,” he said. “We started with small national acts and a small stage. Now we’ve grown to where we’ve changed the location, leased property for additional parking, added bigger-name acts, and now we’re renting the largest stage you can rent.
“McHenry is ready to shine,” Jett said, “and we look forward to greeting music fans once again at Petersen Park.”