Just 16 years old, teen organizes Ragtime Festival at Fox River Trolley Museum

Musicians from around the country will be playing songs from more than 100 years ago at the Fox River Trolley Museum’s inaugural Ragtime Festival on Aug. 22-23 thanks to the efforts of a 16-year-old who’s passionate about both trains and ragtime.

Anderson Pries, 16, a junior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Chicago’s South suburbs, said he loves going to ragtime fests, but the closest one was more than four hours away in Michigan. It seemed like a natural fit to hold a gathering at the South Elgin museum, where he has been a volunteer since 2024, he said.

“I felt that ragtime and trolley cars were a natural historical fit,” Anderson said. “So I suggested the event to the museum board and the rest is history.”

His love of trains began after a trip to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry at age 4, when he saw the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad’s iconic Pioneer Zephyr. A trek to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union was where he first learned about the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railroad and other trains and trolleys, which led him to visit the Fox River Trolley Museum.

Pries’ parents, Hilary and Adam, take turns driving him to South Elgin a couple of weekends a month. What sold them on making the trip north was the proximity of the museum to the Fox River Trail, which gives them the opportunity to run or bike while Anderson helps out at the museum, Hilary Pries said.

For Anderson, the lure is the chance to be involved with the trains.

“I enjoy volunteering because I get to operate trains, educate the public on the rich history of electric interurban trolley cars and rapid transit systems in the Chicago area, and contribute to a museum that preserves and operates history in the Fox River Valley,” he said.

As for ragtime music, he has been playing keyboards for 11 years.

“I heard it first as a demo track on my electric piano, and I thought it was cool sounding. A few years later, I learned Scott Joplin’s famous ‘Maple Leaf Rag,’ and I was hooked,” Anderson said.

That passion led to involvement in the nationwide ragtime scene, he said, and to taking lessons from Andy Schumm, a multi-instrumentalist who leads the Chicago Cellar Boys, a group that specializes in pre-jazz and vintage jazz music. In addition to the piano, Anderson also plays trombone and is a trombone section leader for the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Marching Vikings.

In May, Anderson was named “Ragtime Kid” at the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. To earn the title, he submitted an essay on ragtime history and how he is helping keep it alive, as well as two recordings of himself performing ragtime music and an overview of his plans for the Fox River Ragtime Festival.

Being named the Ragtime Kid meant he performed at the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, gave an interview about founding the Fox River Ragtime Festival, and received an honorarium, which is going to the South Elgin event.

Using the connections he’s made in the ragtime community, he has arranged for 11 pianists to perform, including his 14-year-old sister, Fiona, and Grammy Award winner Paul Asaro. Eight other musicians will be taking part as well.

Asaro performs with the Chicago Cellar Boys and his own band, Paul Asaro and His Rhythm. His Grammy win comes from his piano work on Loudon Wainwright III’s “The Charlie Poole Project,” which won Best Traditional Folk Album in 2010.

Some of the players might don dapper period costumes, depending on the August weather.

“I have requested that they all dress somewhat nicely but also to be comfortable with heat,” he said.

The fest will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. There will be trolley rides with live music onboard in addition to handcar rides, food trucks and tours of the museum. Bicycle-like velocipede rides along rails will be offered Saturday.

“It has been awesome to meet the performers and to take charge for an event like this,” Anderson said. “As far as challenges, the biggest one would be funding to pay for the performers, but we have had many generous donors donate to the festival as well as some performers (who) have volunteered to play.”

Hilary Pries helped him find pianos, and his father helped deliver them to the trolley museum. The family also includes sister Felicity, 11, who will be at the ragtime fest and cheering on her piano-playing siblings.

“What Anderson does can be exhaustive and impressive. He did so much legwork on this fest, and we followed his lead,” Hilary Pries said. “He’s a straight-A student as well, and we’re very proud of him. He has big dreams, and he acts on them.”

For tickets and more information about the festival, go to foxtrolley.org/visit/special-events/ragtimefestival.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.

•••

Ragtime Festival

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23

Where: Fox River Trolley Museum, 365 S. La Fox St. (Route 31), South Elgin

Tickets: $20 or $15 for children, senior or veterans; $25 or $30 for two-day pass. (Good for unlimited rides; seats on the train available on a first-come first-serve basis).

For musician lineup: foxtrolley.org/visit/special-events/ragtimefestival