Sound check: Vanilla Ice in Naperville, the Berwyn Blues Fest at FitzGerald's
Naperville Music Festival
The Naperville Music Festival welcomes in the first weekend of autumn with a dash of upbeat '90s nostalgia. Vanilla Ice headlines the family-friendly throwback concert event, which also features Smash Mouth, Color Me Badd, C+C Music Factory and more outdoors on the grounds of the Naper Settlement.
5-10 p.m. (gates open at 3:30) Saturday, Sept. 25, at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. $39-$149, VIP packages are available. napervillemusicfestival.com.
Berwyn Blues Festival
FitzGerald's has long prided itself as one of the Chicago area's homes for modern blues, and this weekend the venue gets to strut its stuff with the three-day Berwyn Blues Festival. The showcase features 26 smoking blues acts - including Shemekia Copeland, Toronzo Cannon, Bette Smith, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Joanna Connor, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Billy Branch, John Primer and many others - spread across the outdoor patio and inside the club so guests can roam between sets to get down to their favorites in this truly unforgettable lineup.
6 p.m. (doors open at 5) Friday, Sept. 24, and 1 p.m. (doors open at noon) Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26, at FitzGerald's Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. $50 each day. (708) 788-2118 or fitzgeraldsnightclub.com.
WKQX decks the Ballroom
Get your holiday shopping done early this season; 101-WKQX's annual The Nights We Stole Christmas tickets are on sale now. The lineup for the five-day series - set for the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom - features The Lumineers with Michigander on Monday, Dec. 6; The Killers with Girl in Red and The Backseat Lovers on Tuesday, Dec. 7; Kings of Leon with Dayglow and Almost Monday on Wednesday, Dec. 8; Evanescence with Badflower and Cleopatrick on Thursday, Dec. 9; and wrapping up with Rise Against joined by Chevelle and Des Rocs on Friday, Dec. 10.
7 p.m. Monday through Friday, Dec. 6-10, at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago. Prices vary by day, but tickets start at $59; 101wkqx.com/stole/.
Yorkville jams
West suburban Matt Derda & the High Watts are taking a trek to Yorkville's Law Office Pub for a Friday night of folk-rock and power-pop as they add their catchy tunes to the mix, joining solo-acoustic sets by Nick Leet (of High On Stress from Minneapolis) and Jeremy Porter (of Detroit's JP & The Tucos). Chicago's harmony-rich power-popsters The Embryos round out the 21+ (unless accompanied by a parent) evening.
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at The Law Office Pub & Music Hall, 226 S. Bridge St., Yorkville. $10. (630) 882-9559 or lawofficepub.com.
Underground spotlight series #4
Wanna hear some of the up-and-coming artists making the rounds on the suburban scene? Underbelly Hours podcast hosts Adela Skowronski and Dan Dick take to the Dry City Brew Works patio stage in Wheaton to shine a spotlight on three more musical acts this weekend: Amelia Harlovic, Big Fans and Rogers & Cooper. Weather permitting, the show will be outdoors, but masks will be required for anyone heading inside.
6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Dry City Brew Works, 120 N. Main St., Wheaton. Free. (630) 456-4787 or drycitybrewworks.com.
Afternoon beats
This Sunday, Culture Stock, Them Bad Apples and P.O.B.U.M.S. SOCIETY host the seventh annual On The Wall hip-hop festival to cap off the weekend. Starting at noon, the free all-ages event will celebrate hip-hop culture with music, dancing, live graffiti art and food from local vendors Strawberries BBQ and Harvey's Fire Box.
Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, along Middle Avenue (between Cross and Gale streets) in Aurora. Free. Find updated details on the Facebook event page.
Brian Shamie is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor and local music junkie. Email him at bshamie@dailyherald.com, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter (@thatshamieguy) or Instagram (@chicagosoundcheck). Brian also keeps tabs on the local music scene at chicagosoundcheck.com.