Taste Of Joliet: What Did It Cost For Goo Goo Dolls, Lady A Concerts?

JOLIET —In order to bring the citizens of Joliet and the surrounding Will County region world-class live music talent at the Taste of Joliet every June, Joliet Park District subscribes to the philosophy that you have to spend money up front in order to make money.

Last year's Goo Goo Dolls concert drew an estimated 25,000 people inside Memorial Stadium, and the crowd absolutely loved the Goo Goo Dolls' performance. One of the great aspects of going to see an outdoor summer concert at the Taste of Joliet is that music lovers aren't paying $200 to $400 per ticket to see their favorite music performer visit their hometown.

Last year, Taste of Joliet admission prices were priced at $19 online and $20 on the day of the event. For this year's event, June 20-22, featuring Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins on Friday and Brett Eldredge for Saturday's Country Night, Taste of Joliet admission tickets are priced at $23 online and $25 on the day of the concert.

Joliet Park District Executive Director Brad Staab pointed out the $23 to $25 cost of admission into the Taste of Joliet event — which allows everyone the opportunity to watch all of that particular day's live music shows — is what some ticket vendors charge alone in online service fees just for going to see a worldwide touring act perform at a major stadium.

"We've had a pretty good streak here," Staab said. "We think keeping the admission prices in the $20 to $25 range keeps it affordable. We've seen that as our crowds go up, our expenses keep going up too."

As for the Goo Goo Dolls, their appearance at Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 21, 2024, cost the Joliet Park District $300,000.

If you're thinking, that's outrageous, what is the Joliet Park District doing spending that kind of money, consider this: The Joliet Park District spent exactly $300,000 the previous year for the Friday night headliner, Train, in 2023.

Last year's country music lineup was also expensive, but again, at the end of the festival, the Joliet Park District still generated a profit, even in spite of having to shorten the festival because of inclement weather on Saturday night for country night.

Lady A's concert for country night cost the Joliet Park District $300,000 as the Saturday night country music headliner. The country music night performance by Restless Road cost the Joliet Park District $20,000 and Ian Harrison cost $5,000 for his early evening show.

The main headliner for Sunday's Hispanic music lineup was Los Huracanes del Norte, and their appearance cost Joliet Park District $65,000.

Los Huracanes del Norte have been nominated for three Grammys, produced 68 albums and were just awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Taste of Joliet Turns Profit 3 Straight Years

There was no Taste of Joliet in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Joliet Park District came back in 2022 with Collective Soul as the Friday night headliner. The 2023 Taste of Joliet included Train on Friday night and Saturday night concerts from Mitch Tenpenny and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, plus Latin Grammy winners Banda Los Sebastianes for Sunday's main act.

According to the Joliet Park District, the 2022 Taste of Joliet generated a $166,000 profit, the 2023 generated a profit of $78,505 and last year's 2024 Taste of Joliet drew a profit of $14,110.

However, Staab explained that profits were down last year because the Park District had to scramble and move up the Saturday night shows because of a major thunderstorm rolling into the Chicago area.

The Park District managed to get in the Lady A performance, but Saturday night's hours were shortened for the Taste of Joliet, and that substantially cut into revenue, Staab said.

The Joliet Park District typically does not release the contract terms of its summer concert acts through a Freedom of Information Act request until after the scheduled performance, because the contracts sometimes change leading up to the show, according to Staab.

Earlier this year, the Park District announced that Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins will be the Friday night headliner and Saturday's country music line up will feature Brett Eldredge.

The Sunday Hispanic music lineup is still in the works and should be finalized in a couple more weeks, Staab informed Joliet Patch on Tuesday.

Finally, Staab also stressed that this event is a huge undertaking that requires the help of the entire community.

“The Joliet Park District staff, volunteers, sponsors, food vendors, Joliet Police and Fire, and our Board of Commissioners all work together to make it happen. This is the definition of a community event," Staab remarked.