Live music will fill three stages for four days when FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn presents the American Music Festival July 1-4. More than 60 acts will perform a range of music that includes Americana, country, blues, zydeco, rockabilly, folk, soul, and more over the weekend.
Shows begin at 5 p.m. July 1 and 1 p.m. Jully 2-4.
One of the longest-running music festivals in the country, it began in 1981 as a one-night event and has grown to fill an entire Fourth of July weekend every year except 2020.
“The annual American Music Festival at FitzGerald’s, which is now in its 39th incarnation, is in my opinion the highest and best use of the FitzGerald’s property — we like to call it a campus,” said owner Will Duncan, who purchased the nightclub from the Fitzgerald family in 2020.
Duncan noted that more than 1,000 people attend the festival each day enjoying live music on three stages. “It’s really the property in full swing,” he declared. “And it allows us an opportunity to bring world-class artists, like Alejandro Escovedo and Son Volt and North Mississippi Allstars. It’s such an important tradition for the community and music-lovers around FitzGerald’s.”
Duncan revealed that when he was considering purchasing FitzGerald’s, he attended the 2019 American Music Festival there. “It was the tipping point,” he revealed. “I was completely and totally mesmerized and transfixed by the whole experience.”
In selecting performers for the festival, Duncan reported that they focus on American roots music. “That includes quite a few genres — everything from country to Americana, rock, blues, jazz,” Duncan said. He noted that they are not including as much blues music as they have in the past because FitzGerald’s hosts a blues festival every fall now.
In selecting artists for the festival, Duncan said they bring in “recognizable legacy artists that FitzGerald’s fans will know and love, but also it’s a great opportunity to feature new, emerging artists that we know our audiences will love that they may not have heard of yet.”
Duncan said that he is excited that Nashville singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan will be at the American Music Festival for the first time this year. Tasjan is excited, too.
Reflecting on the past two years, Tasjan said, “This feels like an enormous gift to be able to play music for people, especially at a festival. There’s no better symbol for people coming together and having a harmonious vibe than a music festival.”
Tasjan, who plays guitar and piano, in addition to singing, will be performing all original music, accompanied by Ben Lecourt from France on drums, Jessica Lee Wilkes from Kentucky on bass, and Erica Blinn from Ohio on guitar.
Tasjan, who has been creating original music since he was 11, said that his songs have a unique style. “It doesn’t sound like anything else. It doesn’t sound like anybody else,” he said.
“My songs are mainly little messages that I write to myself. The lyrics are kind of either affirmations about who I want to be or who I think I could be or little reminders to hang in there. For me, songs are like your mantra. I want to put these messages into my songs that were healing, affirming notions for myself and for anybody that would listen to them.”
Festivalgoers will have the chance to enjoy food from BabyGold Barbecue, which Duncan opened on the FitzGerald’s campus a little over a year ago in a two-flat building adjacent to the Nightclub.
During the festival, there will be a quick-order food setup where festivalgoers can purchase a sandwich, a brat, or fish in the middle of the outdoor patio. In addition, across the property, there will be locations where you can order from the full BabyGold Barbecue menu.
“That will be a fun addition to the festival that people haven’t seen in years past,” Duncan said. He added, “The Fitzgerald’s family has really established something pretty special. It’s my honor and pleasure to try my best to carry it on.”
American Music Festival
When: July 1-4
Where: FitzGerald’s Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn
Tickets: $50 per day; $175 for a 4-day pass; Children under 12 free
Information: 708-788-2118; fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/american-music-fest
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.