Suburbs Fest Midwest to rock Arlington Heights and Chicago Aug. 4-6
For the first time, "Rockin' the Suburbs" podcast co-hosts Patrick Foster and Jim Lenahan are going on the road for a special staging of Suburbs Fest in the Chicago area, Aug. 4-6.
The three-night event will feature live music, audience participation and music discussion at two venues. Last year's Suburbs Fest - the inaugural event in Washington, D.C. - drew a crowd from 15 states.
"The support we receive from our community is incredible," says Jim. "To think that we started this little podcast just because we love to talk about music, and it has grown to the point where people want us to come to their town. We are excited to connect with our community of listeners - and meet music fans in general, even if they've never listened to our podcast."
A rundown of Suburbs Fest Midwest:
• Thursday, Aug. 4: A Live Hootenanny (open-mic) night at Arlington Ale House, 111 W. Campbell St., in Arlington Heights. 7:30-11 p.m. Anyone can bring an instrument and perform, or sing in "live band karaoke" with Indiana rock band Frank Muffin.
• Friday, Aug. 5: An open-mic podcast session. Participants can choose a music topic and record a 10-minute podcast with Jim and Patrick. 5 p.m. at Arlington Ale House.
• Friday, Aug. 5: A show by Frank Muffin at Arlington Ale House. 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 6: A three-band bill at the Hidden Cove at 5336 N. Lincoln Ave., in Chicago. On the lineup: The Stick Arounds from Lansing Michigan, Demolition Means Progress from Minneapolis Minnesota, and Cutest Nuisance from Chicago. 6-10 p.m. (doors at 5). $10 cover.
Jim and Patrick launched the "Rockin' the Suburbs" podcast 2017, after career transitions away from USA Today, where they hosted the successful "Dad Rock" podcast. The podcast features music discussion and interviews, five days a week. They have produced more than 1,400 episodes. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon and other major podcast platforms. (Rockin'; the Suburbs also operates a 24/7 streaming radio station at suburbsradio.com.)
Celebrity guests of the podcasts have included Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Drive By Truckers, Matthew Sweet, Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and Belly, and even Sen. Tim Kaine (a big Replacements fan).
During the pandemic, Jim and Patrick created the Friday Night Hootenanny. Members of the Rockin' the Suburbs community from as far away as Los Angeles, Scotland and Sweden gathered on Zoom each week to play songs for each other. Tight bonds were formed, and there was a strong desire in the community to meet in person after the pandemic subsided. That led to the first Suburbs Fest, in October 2021, in the Washington, D.C. area, and then the two Suburbs Fests this year.
For more information on Suburbs Fest, go to suburbspod.com/suburbs-fest-22.