Virtual Fall Fest features weekend of livestreamed music

The 15th annual Huntley Fall Fest kicks off Friday for a weekend of wholly virtual live bands that will make it the Chicago area’s largest livestreamed music event.

With a nod to the coronavirus, the fest is moving from its normal location at Deicke Park to the confines of RocHaus, a music venue in West Dundee. While RocHaus won’t be open to the public, the three nights of live music will be livestreamed via the Huntley Fall Fest’s Facebook page.

“We were hoping to have the fest as normal…but that’s not the case,” said Bryant Haniszewski, chairman of the Huntley Fall Festival Foundation, a 100% volunteer organization. “With the social distancing stuff and being responsible, it was best to cancel the fest and everything that goes on in Diecke Park each year.”

And while the lack of a Fall Fest in Deicke Park simply adds to the sorrows of separation caused by the pandemic, the event will now become bigger than the park or the village could ever manage with Facebook exposing the 10 bands to an international audience. Other festivals hit by the pandemic, like Chicago’s Lollapalooza, went to recorded bands or music videos, so the Fall Fest’s three days of livestreamed bands will make it the area’s largest live music event of 2020, Haniszewski said.

There’s no carnival for the kids, but the beer’s as close as the fridge and with a few connections, the bands can be watched on the big flatscreen with the music channeled through a home sound system.

If you want to make it more Fall Fest-like in your home, there will be a list of food vendors on the Facebook page with restaurants offering different items in recognition of the event. Local establishments, including the Sew Hop’d microbrewery and BBQ King Smokehouse, will feature the festival on big screens, with proper social distancing, of course.

Rok Brigade kicks off the fest at 7:30 Friday night, followed by Modern Day Romeos at 9:45.
Saturday afternoon starts with My Metal Heart at 1, then Serendipity at 3:15, Hillbilly Rockstarz at 5:30, the Lounge Puppets at 7:45, and 7th heaven at 10 p.m.

Sunday’s bands will feature Hi Infidelity at 4:30 and local legend Pino Farina Band at 6:45. Wrapping up the three days of fun and music will be Think Floyd USA at 9 p.m.

The RocHaus is the latest incarnation of a 110-year old theater that once welcomed traveling vaudeville shows, which, according to legend, included Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope and The Three Stooges. It became a movie theater before being transformed to The Clearwater, and not transformed again into RocHaus.

While sponsors for the Huntley Fall Fest will help foot the bill for the livestreamed festival, Haniszewski said there will be virtual tip jars to help support the bands, but added, “No one is obligated to do that. You can watch for free.”

This virtual Fall Fest follows last year’s near-total rainout, and while that could lead to some questioning of whether the festival can survive until the fall of 2021, Haniszewski said he wouldn’t worry and assured fest fans the music would be back in the park next year.

“We were planning on having the full festival,” Haniszewski said. “…Things seem to change daily. When we knew we couldn’t do it we thought of doing this. Hopefully, everyone enjoys it.”