'Not Too Loud, Not Too Crazy': Winnetka Music Festival Is This Weekend

WINNETKA, IL — The Winnetka Music Festival returns to the center of the village this weekend, promising to deliver a family-friendly mix of music, food and community fun.

Featuring more than two dozen artists, this year marks the eighth year since the festival began and the second of its partnership with the live venue and restaurant group 16 on Center.

Headliners this year include Band of Horses on Friday and Milky Chance on Saturday. Other acts scheduled to perform include The Verve Pipe, Half Moon Run, Caroline Jones, The Heavy Heavy, Rebirth Brass Band and Yola.

VIP tickets get holders into premium viewing platforms and climate-controlled bathrooms as well as two free drinks and access to premium food and beverage options.

The festival runs from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, which will include two more stages — the Family Stage and Chapel Stage. Two-day tickets are sold out but single-day tickets remain.

After two years of disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the formerly free festival returned in 2022 with a one-day event headlined by The Record Company and Guster.

Last year, with its new partnership, it returned to two days with headlining performances from The Wallflowers and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

"All I want is for people to come and say that was one of the most comfortable, beautifully programmed music festivals that I've ever been to. Our attention to detail to make this a really comfortable, beautiful festival — not too loud, not too crazy — is all we want people to come out with," festival founder Val Haller told WFLD.

"And most importantly," she added, "I want people to come out saying, 'How did I not know these bands? I have all these new favorite bands to follow now.'"