Naperville's Fling plans country for opening night
Opening night will be country night at the Last Fling festival in Naperville.
The annual end-of-summer event, which runs Friday to Monday, Sept. 1 to 4, will welcome Emily Ann Roberts and LANco for shows on the main stage at Rotary Hill, 443 Aurora Ave.
Roberts, who was runner-up on season nine of "The Voice" in 2015, grew up in East Tennessee, where she was influenced by old country sounds along with gospel and bluegrass music. She is a singer/songwriter who performed with Blake Shelton and Ricky Skaggs while on "The Voice," and has been mentored by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton.
LANco, which has 16 million streaming listens to its song "Greatest Love Story," is awaiting the release of its debut album and touring country festivals this summer. Led by vocalist Brandon Lancaster, LANco has built what Billboard called an "exuberant concert persona" by opening for Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osbourne and Jake Owen at several top country fests.
General admission tickets are $5 at lastfling.org. Tickets for access closest to the stage are $20, and VIP tickets for seating inside the Millennium Carillon, meet-and-greets with the artists, a catered meal and unlimited drinks are $125.
This year's festival, hosted by the Naperville Jaycees as a fundraiser for community causes, also features concerts by Tom Keifer of Cinderella and Poison frontman Bret Michaels on Saturday, Sept. 2, and by Barenaked Ladies Sunday, Sept. 3.
Elsewhere at the Fling's sprawling setup in downtown Naperville, visitors can ride carnival attractions, check out business booths, compete in a variety of games, races and eating contests, take little ones to a family fun zone or meet Miranda May, who plays Lou on the Disney Channel's "Bunk'd."