23 bands to take the two stages at Naperville's Last Fling
As Last Fling Entertainment Chairman James Bernicky readied the lineup for this year's festival, he thought not about booking his favorite bands, but about providing what "99 percent of people" would want to hear.
Dozens of to-do lists later, Bernicky lined up 23 performers from eight states to play on two stages during the four-day festival hosted on Jackson Avenue in downtown Naperville and on Rotary Hill.
"We're definitely looking for bands that can appeal to the whole family, that a wide variety of people can enjoy," Bernicky said. "What I want to hear isn't as important as what 99 percent of people want to hear."
What will visitors hear at the Last Fling this year? Here's a sampling:
• Four are headliners, including ARRA at 8 p.m. Friday, O.A.R. at 8 p.m. Saturday, Smash Mouth at 8 p.m. Sunday and 7th heaven at 3 p.m. Monday at the base of Rotary Hill by the Millennium Carillon, 443 Aurora Ave.
Tickets are available at lastfling.org, and the Saturday and Sunday shows are expected to sell out or come close to selling out the hill's 10,000-person capacity.
"O.A.R. will be close if not sold out, and a lot of people are very excited about Smash Mouth on Sunday, too," Bernicky said. "It just seems to be a band that appeals to a wide variety of people."
• Five are returning artists who previously have performed at the Last Fling, including entertainment stage bands: Pat McCurdy at 8 p.m. Friday, One More Time at noon Saturday, Twist of Faith at 2 p.m. Saturday, Love & Money at 6 p.m. Saturday, and LiveWire at 2 p.m. Sunday.
• One band - LiveWire - is kids-only, in its membership at least. "When you see someone who's 7 or 8 playing guitar solos, it's pretty cool," Bernicky said.