20th Anniversary
Bitter Jester Music Festival Preliminary Concert - Grand Finale
JUN. 27 | 2 PM - 10 PM | FREE
Downtown Highland Park | Second St.
Discover your next favorite band at Bitter Jester, Highland Park's other great music festival! Sponsored by the City of Highland Park, IL, This free, family-friendly concert series has been taking place in Downtown HP annually since 2006. What started as a small "battle of the bands" for local performers has evolved into the nation's largest live festival showcasing emerging artists under the age of 25. Hundreds of performers from all across the nation apply every winter/spring and the festival invites about 40 musical acts from over a dozen states to perform. A "battle of the bands" style event (featuring the top 20% of applicants) has the top acts vying for almost $15,000 in cash and other prizes. With food, craft beer, wine, great coffee, and free parking, the Bitter Jester Music Fest is a must-see event in Downtown Highland Park!
Multiple genres are featured each night with musicians receiving highly detailed feedback from industry professionals in the process. A winner is selected at each of four Preliminary Concerts with four additional "Wild Cards" selected by Festival Producers. Those eight acts then compete head to head at a Grand Finale Concert co-hosted by Nicolas DeGrazia (an Emmy-winning TV director and HP native - the festival's founder) and Peter Sagal (host of "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" on NPR). Come to the Finale for the music and stay to hear Peter interview performers after their sets!
As 101.9 The Mix put it: "It's an incredible concert with a bunch of future headliners!" So check out some of your next favorite bands and be able to say "I saw them when..."
Select Bitter Jester Finalists are chosen to open for national headliners on Ravinia's Carousel Stage and also perform a "Best Of" show at Navy Pier's Beer Garden on Labor Day each year.
Stay tuned for additional details regarding the 2026 Bitter Jester Music Festival.