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Peter Sagal, Humorist and Host of WBEZ’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” to Co-Host Bitter Jester Music Music Fest with Emmy-winning Director Nic DeGrazia

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JUNE 18, 2024

Peter Sagal, Humorist and Host of WBEZ’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” to Co-Host Bitter Jester Music Fest with Emmy-winning Director Nic DeGrazia

Music Festival’s 18th Annual Grand Finale Lineup Announced Free Concert with Food Trucks on Sat, 6/29, 2-10pm in Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, IL (Jun. 18, 2024) – The 18-year-old Bitter Jester Music Festival has announced the complete lineup for its Saturday, June 29, 2024 Grand Finale concert at “The Lot,” 525 Central Ave, Highland Park, IL 60035. The announcement comes after four Preliminary Port Clinton Square Concerts.

New this year: Peter Sagal, Humorist, Writer, and Host of “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” (the news quiz show on WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR station) will join BJMF Founder Nicolas DeGrazia as Co-Host. DeGrazia is a seven-time Chicago/Midwest Emmy-winning and James Beard Award-nominated Writer, Producer, and Director who created the festival in 2006 in his home town of Highland Park.

Sagal, also a Highland Park resident, said “I was at the Dairy Queen, trying to enjoy my Blizzard, and I heard this music. So, I wandered out to complain – basically to yell at the kids to ‘keep it down, some people are trying to eat their Blizzards,’ and instead I found this panoply of amazing talent.”

All joking aside, Sagal was flattered to be asked to co-host the concert alongside DeGrazia and said “People should be packing this event. They should know that the performers in Bitter Jester are excited. And if you have something that the musicians themselves are excited about, it seems inevitable that the public will follow. That is my hope.” He added “I’m a firm believer that if you can’t go find the center of the world, make wherever you are seem like it. That’s what the Bitter Jester Music Festival does. And if a middle-aged NPR host likes this festival, then clearly the world will follow.”

Live in concert on June 29 will be Anna Louise Bramlett (indie rock/pop band, IL), Charlieboy (indie rock/pop band, WI), Exit 122 (pop punk band, IL), Heat Above (pop rock band, MI), Lauren Blackford (alternative singer/songwriter, MI), North Grove (indie funk/rock band, IL), rae (folk and rock singer/songwriter, TN), Scorched Waves (indie rock band, WI), Sunset Drip (alt rock band, IL), Ur Mom (progressive rock band, IL), Venganza (punk/metal band, WI), and VICK LUNA (nine-piece neosoul band, IN). Read complete bios for each performer on the Bitter Jester Website.

Established in 2006 as a local ‘battle of the bands,’ the festival has since grown to become one of the best-respected concert and competition series in the United States for as yet undiscovered musical talent. “People now discover their next favorite bands at Bitter Jester and we’re so excited to have them later learn just how young some of the musicians were” said DeGrazia (the festival predominantly features performers aged 21 and younger). “But it’s so much more than that.” DeGrazia believes this event is the best - and possibly only - festival in the US for young rock, alternative, pop, hip hop, jazz, metal, and other bands and solo artists to network, collaborate, and receive this level of extremely detailed written, numerical, and verbal feedback from industry professionals. “And they do it all while pitting themselves against some of the best acts their own age from multiple states. So, it forces them to improve but in a very friendly, safe, and welcoming environment,” he added. “Bitter Jester is competitive, not combative.”

In addition to growth-oriented feedback and commentary, BJMF performers also receive donated concert photo shoots, videos, and professionally-recorded multi-tracks of their live sets. The festival also produces an annual “Live at Bitter Jester” record pressed to vinyl using the seasonal recordings it makes.

The Bitter Jester Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) public charity that produces the family-friendly music fest, recently received the 2024 Highland Park Arts Award. Given by the Highland Park City Council and Cultural Arts Advisory Group, this year’s award recognized BJFA “for professional performance training and mentorship, actively creating those opportunities for young people in Highland Park and across the country” and for being “a great example of an arts and culture organization that truly harnesses the arts as a driver of economic development, partnering with HP businesses and turning downtown Highland Park into a destination for music lovers.”

“The Bitter Jester Music Festival is a point of pride for the City of Highland Park and a great destination for music lovers,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. “What started as a small showcase of local bands nearly twenty years ago has grown into an impressive festival of some of the region’s best rising star musicians. I look forward to welcoming Highland Park residents and visitors from afar to our beautiful downtown for this summer’s Grand Finale Concert at The Lot next weekend!”

The Saturday Grand Finale is a free concert open to the public. Although donations are welcome at the door and online, they are not required for entry. Proceeds support BJFA, the IL-based public charity that produces this family-friendly festival. A selection of food trucks will be at the Finale including Bellaru Catering, Hello Boba, Judy's Pizza, Pith and Punch, Ravinia Brewing Co, and Tacos Marios.

This year’s full festival featured 45 bands & solo artists from twelve states plus Ontario, Canada. Musical acts were picked by a jury after the BJMF received submissions from 135 cities. Eight acts advance to the Grand Finale (four winners selected by judges plus four “Wild Cards” chosen by DeGrazia and festival staff) competing for a $2,000 cash prize courtesy of First Bank of Highland Park and the title of Bitter Jester Grand Champion. They perform alongside four additional non-competing showcase acts.

One Finalist will be selected by Ravinia Festival to open for a National Headliner on the Carousel Stage in 2025 (BJMF Runner-Up Ur Mom will be opening for ZZ Top + Lynyrd Skynyrd as part of the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour on Aug. 29, 2024). According to 101.9 The MIX, "Bitter Jester is going to be an incredible concert with food and bunch of future headliners. You don’t want to miss it!" A ‘Best of’ Showcase concert takes place at Navy Pier on Labor Day, a tradition since 2015.

For up-to-date information about the Bitter Jester Music Festival, visit them on Instagram @bitterjester_musicfestival or Facebook @BitterJesterBattle. Contributions to support the non-profit Bitter Jester Foundation for the Arts can be made by contacting foundation@bitterjester.org. 

Peter Sagal, Humorist and Host of WBEZ’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” to Co-Host Bitter Jester Music Music Fest with Emmy-winning Director Nic DeGrazia

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