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It was Barrington High School alumni night at a recent installment of one of Barrington’s popular summertime concert series leading up to the town’s celebration of Independence Day.
The July 3 “Metra Lot Concert” in the commuter train parking lot was filled with red, white and blue, along with western hats and boots. It was BHS alumni night and rounded out three consecutive evening parking lot outdoor concerts.
An estimated 7,500 people attended over the several nights, said village communications manager Kate Himes, herself a 2014 Barrington High School graduate.
The first night featured complimentary admission to walk-ins only with about 300 people bringing chairs and picnic suppers. The rest of the series was paid entry by vehicle load, organizers explained.
The Metra Lot Concert series launched in 2020 as a form of outdoor entertainment amid the social distancing restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and it was so successful the format was kept.
“The creativity that came out of COVID I think is evident in a lot of things but especially this because it’s basically drive-in Ravinia (Festival) … you just drive in and meet your friends and family here, they bring their car, you just hang out … tailgate,” Himes said.
She said the series has grown since its inception.
“And this is the first year that we’ve had three (outdoor concerts) over the Fourth of July weekend and they’ve all been super, super successful,” she said.
The Barrington High School Alumni Association hosted an alumni reunion tent where past BHS classmates could look at yearbooks, have a snack or obtain swag.
Jay Istvan, of Barrington, a 1977 BHS graduate, one of the committee members on the board of the alumni association, said the first-ever BHS Alumni Night at the July 3 concert was similar in ways to a former tent event for alumni over past summers.
Alumni families tailgated in view of a natural raised stage overlooking the parking lot.
“I love live music, so for me, this is fantastic,” said Istvan.
Pat McKillen, of the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago, grew up in the Barrington area and graduated from BHS in 2006, was the headliner on BHS Alumni Night.
“I love coming back and playing in my hometown,” McKillen said. “It’s really special for me to be able to come back and play some of my own music.
McKillen, a guitarist, singer and songwriter, wrote the song, “nowhere, Illinois.”
“It talks all about how when we were kids, we wanted to get away from where we grew up,” McKillen said. “And then you get out there and you see the world and you realize that your home is a pretty good place.”
Aaron and Natalie Koerber, of Barrington attended alumni night with their children Rose, 4, Iris, 5 months, and Violet, 2.
“I had an idyllic childhood,” said Natalie Koerber, a 2006 BHS graduate, who has known Pat McKillen since childhood. “I was safe, and I would hang out with all my neighbors and grew up with kids I knew from kindergarten forward. “We all came back together in Chicago and then moved out here when we started having families.”
Ali Laumann, of Barrington, a 2003 BHS graduate, wore an oversized patriotic hat and carried a box of pizza for former classmates to share. In that group of friends was Katie Freese Wilson, a 2002 BHS graduate who resides in Barrington.
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“This is the bubble that’s amazing and great and we all grew up here and it’s hometown America,” said Wilson.
The last summer series concert is Aug. 4 with rock cover band Mike & Joe.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.