Taste Of Joliet Had Substantial Drop In Crowd Attendance: Joliet Park District Explains Why

JOLIET, IL ? Three consecutive days of temperatures above 90 degrees and reaching 100 degrees likely played a major role in late June's attendance drop at the annual Taste of Joliet event at Memorial Stadium, according to Joliet Park District director Brad Staab. The total attendance over the three-day outdoor summer music and food vendor festival totaled 42,000 spectators.

Last year, for example, Mayor Terry D'Arcy told Joliet Patch that the three-day combined June 2024 attendance for Taste of Joliet easily topped 60,000 people, which would break the 2023 record-setting crowd of 55,000 people. The 2023 lineup was headlined by Train, Tyler Hubbard of Florida-Georgia Line and one of Mexico's hottest bands, Latin Grammy winners Banda Los Sebastianes.

As for the most recent June 20-22 Taste of Joliet, "invoices and payments are still outstanding, but it appears the event will break even in 2025," Staab informed Joliet Patch last week.

For the day-to-day attendance figures, this is what the Joliet Park District compiled:

Estimated attendance by day:

• Friday, June 20 12,000
• Saturday, June 21 25,000
• Sunday, June 22 5,000
• TOTAL ATTENDANCE 42,000

Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan and his Machines of God band walked on the stage at 9:15 p.m. as the Friday night lead performer. The rest of the Friday night lineup was:

• Return To Dust at 8 p.m.
• 7th Heaven at 6:15 p.m.
• Olivia Minogue at 5:30 p.m.
• Cool Kills at 4:45 p.m.
• Joliet's Cornerstone Drumline took the stage at 4 p.m. for their annual appearance.

As for Saturday's country night, Brett Eldredge was the headliner performing at 9:30 p.m. A huge crowd came for the earlier shows featuring Dylan Scott at 7:45 p.m. and Gabby Barrett at 6 p.m.

Joliet Park District was not able to publicize their Sunday Hispanic music lineup until only a month to go.

Los Rieleros del Norte performed as the Sunday headliner. They are a three-time Grammy nominated band from Mexico. They?ve released over 50 albums since their start in 1982.

They were joined by RVL es RIVAL and Los de La Homan on starting at 5 p.m. that Sunday.

Joliet Park District Answers Questions About Taste of Joliet 2025

Joliet Patch: "Talk about the heat and the impact that the heat had upon the Taste of Joliet. When the temperatures hit 100 degrees, do a lot of people choose not to come out to a festival? Weren't there a lot of attendees who were treated by the Joliet Fire Department at the event for heat exhaustion?"

Joliet Park District's Staab: "We are very proud of the attendance on a weekend where the heat index was over 100 degrees all three days. The Joliet Fire Department and Joliet Police Department did an amazing job handling multiple weather- related health emergencies all weekend."

Patch: "What were your thoughts on Billy Corgan's performance and show? What reactions from people did you get? Did you feel his concert was worth the price the Joliet Park District had to pay in order to get him to play in Joliet?"

Staab: "Billy Corgan put on a great show ? his fans let us know that they appreciated seeing him at the Taste. His set sounded great. And the crowd loved Saturday?s lineup."

Patch: "Were you still pleased, overall, with the attendance totals for Taste of Joliet 2025? Do you believe the totals would have been higher - a lot higher - if the temperature was in the 80s or 70s?"

Staab: "When you consider the heat we faced the entire week of the Taste, including during setup, we are really proud of what we accomplished. We know that the heat kept crowds down, but staff and volunteers were determined to provide a great festival for Joliet."

Patch: "What other remarks do you want the community to know in regard to the Taste of Joliet for 2025? There were no major crowd incidents or arrests made by the Joliet police force, correct?"

Staab: "As always, just want to thank the Joliet community for supporting the Taste, and thank you to everyone who works so hard to make it happen."

What did it cost to attend Taste of Joliet?

Children 11 and under accompanied by an adult were free all weekend. Seniors, 62 years old and older were $10 all weekend. General admission tickets were $23 in advance and $25 on the day of the show.