Bands ranging from brass and polka to classic rock will perform Oct. 16 to 18 at Rocktoberfest, the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce’s new event.
The outdoor tented event on Oak Park Avenue also will have beer pong, bean bags and other games, domestic and specialty beers and food from local favorites such as Ed & Joe’s, Salinas, Siam Mariana and Shea’s Bakery.
The music lineup includes And Beyond, featuring former members of Infinity, the father-and-son-based group Polka Generations out of Bourbonnais, the Bon Jovi tribute Slippery When Wet and country rockers Rockstar Rodeo.
The 95th Street Band, formed by vocalist and keyboardist Bob Baader in 1982 as a student and member of the school band at Marian Catholic High School, has a horn section and delivers the music of Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Ides of March, Tower of Power and Bruce Springsteen.
Averaging a gig every three weeks, their set list caters to “the music playing in people’s houses growing up,” said Baader, now 48 and living in Steger. “At Oktoberfest, we’re going to get a lot of people booty shakin.'”
Since the days of practicing at Marian and in home basements and garages “and anywhere else no one was home,” he said with a laugh, the band lineup and name has changed time and again. Baader remains the only original member, but some do join in now and then.
The current lineup of mostly south suburbanites includes Marty Kalas on baritone saxophone, Dan Moffett on saxophone, Norm Friede on trombone, Mike Margraf on trumpet, Bill Borys on trumpet, Bill Zielinski on bass, Tim McCarthy on drums, Bill Beck on guitar and vocals and Rich Aldana on vocals and percussion.
First called Out of Focus, then XL due to the number of musicians on stage, then Virtuosity and later Son of Jake for a Blues Brothers tribute, the group has gone by the name 95th Street Band since 1999.
“95th Street Band is what stuck best to personify our South Side image,” Baader said. “From Joliet to Northwest Indiana to the heart of the city, that’s where our following is, sort of like a band triangle.”
While his first concert was Johnny Cash at the Illinois State Fair at age 7, Baader said seeing Chicago perform in a zoo benefit at Soldier Field when he was 10 years old inspired him.
“I thought ‘Wow, that’s what I want to do’ and I found a way to do it not too many years later,” he said. “When I was in high school in the ’80s, music was taking a turn toward mechanical. I resisted the whole synthesizer and drum movement and tried to keep everything as organic as possible with real instruments.”
Over the decades of leading the band, Baader had the privilege to perform with Chicago’s original drummer Danny Seraphine and Kenny Cetera, brother of Peter Cetera who sang on the “Chicago 17” album and toured behind it playing percussion and drums.
Today, the band regularly appears at festivals, including the Caribbean Block Party in Tinley Park, and venues such as Heroes West in Joliet and 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park.
Oktoberfest is Tinley Park’s newest addition to seasonal affairs. The idea for a fall festival came about six years ago at Brew & Vine, the popular springtime festival.
“(Then) Mayor Zabrocki suggested we have a fall event,” chamber director Bob Haustein said. “Oktoberfest is the last event before winter and Brew & Vine is the first event after winter.”
Vickie Jurkowski is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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Rocktoberfest
When: 6 to 11 p.m. Oct. 16, noon to 11 p.m. Oct. 17 and 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 18
Where: Across the street from Bettenhausen Fiat, 17600 Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park
Music Schedule: The Walkins from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 16; Slippery When Wet from 1 to 4 p.m., 95th Street Band from 4 to 7 p.m. and Rockstar Rodeo from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17; and Polka Generations from 1 to 3 p.m. with And Beyond from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 18
Admission: At the gate $5 Oct. 16 and 18 or $10 Oct. 17; General Admission Weekend Pass $20 online; VIP Weekend Pass, including VIP seating on the side of the stage and a personal drink vendor, $40 online.
Information: Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce at 708-532-5700; tinleychamber.org/rocktoberfest