12:00

Joe's Garage Band

Naperville's own favorite garage band. Lina Kulivas (lead vocals - aged 22) fronts this ripened menagerie of musicians, former winners of the Mid-Life Crisis Battle of the Bands.  Their diverse set list keeps young, old and everyone in between grinnin’ and spinnin’.  Ribfest veterans all, they are sure to surprise and satisfy local followers and newcomers alike.   

 
Joes Garage Band members are Lina Kulivas, Dan Cutaia, Duane Moore, John Kulivas, Goji Tanabe, Matt Kaley, and Pat Murphy.

2:00

Gurus of Blues

4:00

7th Heaven

Since 1985, NTD Records recording artists "7th heaven" has been a staple in the Midwest as one of the busiest bands in the world. Averaging over 250 shows a year, 7th heaven plays to over 1.5 million people.  Having charted #1 in the Chicago region on the Billboard charts for the past 2 years with 4 different products.  The band hit mainstream in 2010 by opening for Bon Jovi and Kid Rock at Solider Field to a sold-out 80,000 people.  Seen on NBC, ABC, WGN and Fox.  They can be heard all over Radio worldwide with 2 hit songs; "Better This Way" and "Sing".  You will also hear 7th heaven playing when you go to Ambercrombie and Finch, Office Max, Red Robbin and other various malls, restaurants and airports worldwide. Having released a 700 all-original song "Jukebox", 7th heaven's music is everywhere.  Record sales over 50,000 and digital tracks are available on iTUNES & Amazon.com.  It has been the bands choice to stay in Chicagoland and turn down tours around the country.  This is the premier Chicago festival act according to prominent talent buyers in Illinois

6:00

Heartsfield

Heartsfield has toured the United States in each decade since the 1970s, having performed 5,000 shows for millions fans at fairs and festivals, stadiums, colleges and universities, clubs and bars, private parties, and in the streets. Having released their 11th album in 2010, they have sold millions of records and continue to please audiences with their brand of Americana-based Southern/Country/Folk Rock music.

8:00

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B. King and Dan Fogelberg. Walsh may claim to be an “Ordinary Average Guy” but this Rock n Roll Hall of Famer is no ordinary musician. 

12:30

Admiral of Black

Since forming in 2008, Admiral Of Black have racked up appearances in the smash video game hit RockBand, had their songs featured in worldwide marketing campaigns, a Harley-Davidson commercial, and have even been featured on the UFC. 

They have released two albums: 2009’s “The Hand of Chaos,” and 2011’s “Blood & Fire” which are available worldwide through iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.  Companies such as Jim Dunlop/MXR, DR Strings, and Peterson Tuners have endorsed them.  They have also signed a management deal with the artist development/band management firm The Inner Light Agency.

2:30

Mass Chemistry

Mass Chemistry performs a combination of original music as well as a variety of cover tunes, which include songs ranging from the 70’s to today. This formula provides their audience with a soothing blend of the familiar through their choice of cover tunes and a new sonic experience with their original compositions. Their originals are all modern rock in nature and compliment the style of the covers they play. The original music creates a soothing blend of commercial sensibility with huge melodic hooks, supplying their listeners with the ear candy that keeps their fans wanting more. Mass Chemistry’s high energy performances, driving instrumentation and incredible vocals have all helped them to quickly gain recognition as one of the area's top acts.

4:30

Dirty Dan's Cool Rockin' Daddies

Based in the Chicago area, Dirty Dan’s Cool Rockin’ Daddies is a tight little five-piece "Roadhouse-style" band, made up of (you guessed it) five dads, all veterans of the music business. A couple dads were signed to major-label record deals, and some were not, but all have played in highly popular bands, on principle stages, and have opened for national acts throughout their careers. Built on the concept of being a lean, mean, rockin’ machine, this band pays homage to "Rock Greats" from the 50's, to the 90's, along with playing some smokin’ originals too!

6:30 

Connor Christian & Southern Gothic

Connor Christian & Southern Gothic are equal parts modern troubadours, back road poets and outlaw rockers, who create gritty, soulful songs of experience, revealing solace in hardship, hope in destitution, and a dustbowl sensibility.  Their powerful music draws on influences ranging from Ryan Adams, G. Love, and Counting Crows to The Band and Tumbleweed Connection-era Elton John, and makes a heartfelt statement found at the crossroads of Country Music, Roots Rock and Americana.

8:00

ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American icon.  This sturdy American blues-rock trio from Texas consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar), Dusty Hill (bass), and Frank Beard (drums). ZZ Top plays red-hot Texas boogie and blues, and no one does it better - or has done it longer - than this “little ol  band from Texas.”  The trios enduring appeal owes much to their mastery of and feel for rootsy forms.

Guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard were influenced by such blues masters as Freddie King, Lightnin. Hopkins, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. From the beginning they took a hard-rocking power-trio approach to the blues, cultivating a new audience for it in the Seventies and Eighties with superior musicianship as well as attitude, style and some devilishly funny songs.

1:30

Paul Avers Band

The Paul Avers Band is a Naperville based Country Music Band that combines elements of Rock, Blues, Funk, and Pop music into today’s COUNTRY music. Paul’s writing is reflective of everything from Drinkin' songs to love songs. Paul’s original music has been considered for use in shows such as “American Idol” and X-Factor. Mix in some good ole classic cover songs like the influences of Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, and Alan Jackson and you quickly learn why it has been tagged "Country Music at its Best!" by local newspapers. Paul and the band have performed for top artists like Randy Travis and Trace Adkins, Paul has even stood on the stage of the “Grand ole Opry” in Nashville. Paul has recorded 3 cd's of original music, and enjoys playing many more self penned acoustic songs. Currently  they are circulated through Jango Airplay, and available on I-Tunes. The Paul Avers Band is Unique and enjoyable. Truly a Must See!

3:30 Dime Store String Band 

Dime Store String Band plays a blend of traditional, Bill Monroe bluegrass and rock inspired jam grass of 'Old And In The Way' with Jerry Garcia. Time Out Magazine says "the bluegrass is fantastic".
The Dime Store String Band grew out of a 1998 Dark Star Orchestra collaboration between John Kadlecik (now touring in Bob Weir’s Further project), Bob Lait (the DSSB lead), Michael Hazdra (DSO), Wavy Dave Burlingame (Cornmeal) and Lisa Mackey (DSO). 

5:30

Big John Howell & Born to Boogie Band

7:00

Thompson Square 

Just named by the ACM as Country's Duo of the Year - Thompson Square.  If you have not heard them before, you will enjoy every minute of their unique  style. Thompson Square isn’t a real place, exactly. It’s the musical territory staked out by the husband-and-wife duo of Keifer and Shawna Thompson, an exciting and unpredictable area where country meets rock, rough meets smooth and one vagabond heart finds a harmonious common ground with another. It’s the sweet destination where two journeys end and another one begins. “It’s the place where we create our thing, a little fantasyland where we live,” Keifer says.

8:30

Joe Nichols

Joe Nichols will add his own country style to the Ribfest line-up.  The true measure of an artist lies beyond the milestones and the hardware. Joe Nichols, of course, has plenty of both, but a legacy relies just as surely on an intangible that is just as surely a part of Joe’s makeup--authenticity.

Legends like George Jones and Merle Haggard have given Joe their public seal of approval, adding real luster to accomplishments that reflect the respect he has earned across the board: including his new artist awards from the Country Music Association, the four Grammy nominations, a CMA Album of the Year nomination, and a New York Times Best-Albums-of-the-Year nod and a stream of hits, including chart-toppers like "Brokenheartsville," "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," and "Gimmie That Girl," and Top Ten smashes like "The Impossible," "If Nobody Believed In You," "What's A Guy Gotta Do," "Size Matters," and "I'll Wait For You," that made all the rest possible.

12:30

Doug James and the Pocket

 Fresh on the scene but long on talent comes Doug James and The Pocket; they are NOT your average blues band. High energy is their claim to fame! Lead vocalist and keyboardist Doug James fronts The Pocket, a band of Chicago veteran musicians that lay a groove so deep you’ll never climb out of it. Feel the funk of blue-eyed soul bassist (and Naperville resident) Rick Demski, thrill to the scorching riffs of harp player Dave Rix, stick your feet in the swampy Delta mud slide guitarist Chuck Wasserburg, drop your jaw at the awe-inspiring lead riffs of guitarist Joe DiFrancesco, and just when you think you’ve reached the brink, drummer Ron Schur pushes you over the edge with a beat so intense your teeth will rattle and your bones will shake! The music is fun, the groove is infectious, the energy through the roof! When you want fun and great times, you want Doug James and The Pocket!

2:00

Nick Moss and The Fliptops

There’s a ‘Renaissance Man’ revival in the music industry these days, and Nick Moss has taken advantage of it. Unprecedented upheaval in the entertainment field has thrown open the doors of opportunity for artists with vision and courage to take advantage of it. The release of Nick’s eighth album, Privileged,is proof he has both.
After seven critically-acclaimed traditional blues albums,Nick has widened his focus on Privileged in order to absorb song forms and influences beyond the scope of those heard on his previous albums. Not every artist is willing to challenge themselves to grow, explore, and expand. For Nick, that has become second nature.

3:30

Leftover Salmon

Leftover Salmon labels themselves as Colorado’s Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass. Their sound is unmistakable: fluid, loose-limbed, and simultaneously rootsy and daring. Fusing an unrivaled improvisational fervor to a dizzying combination of bluegrass, Cajun, funk, Southern rock, boogie, Caribbean, Latin, and jazz influences, Leftover Salmon has earned a legion of diehard fans, critical accolades, and a reputation as one of the most exciting, engaging concert experiences to ever hit the road.

5:30

TBA

8:00

School of Rock Allstars

9:30

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