Taste Of Joliet Music Contracts: Here's How Much Park District Spent For 2025 Lineup

JOLIET, IL ? Back in February, when the Joliet Park District booked Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan for a $275,000 contract to play on June 20 at Taste of Joliet, there was optimism that Joliet native and legendary Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin would join Corgan on stage before a rocking Memorial Stadium crowd in excess of 20,000 alternative rock enthusiasts.

But as the weeks and days moved closer to June 20, there was no sign from the Joliet Park District that Chamberlin would make a special appearance on stage in his hometown at the Taste of Joliet. After all, Corgan was touring the country with a different band of musicians, his Machines of God, featuring a different male drummer ? one with no ties to Joliet.

Despite Chamberlin's absence, Corgan's performance generated a great response from his Taste of Joliet audience, but the Memorial Stadium crowd was nowhere near what it was the previous two years, when Goo Goo Dolls performed in 2024 and Train was the headliner in 2023.

Joliet Patch recently obtained both the attendance totals and the Joliet Park District's entertainment contracts. In total, the Joliet Park District spent at least $711,500 for its out-of-state Taste of Joliet music talent. Overall, the three-day summer food and music festival drew a combined crowd of 42,000 attendees.

Joliet Park District Hoped To Generate $700,000 In Revenue From Corgan's Show

Corgan's $275,000 contract was the most expensive for the Joliet Park District, and his contract was set in stone whether one person came or 100,000 people overflowed into Memorial Stadium.

"$275,000 flat guarantee. Purchaser to provide and pay for local sound and lights and artist hospitality per artist specifications. Artist to be paid in full rain or shine. Billy Corgan and The Machines of God to receive headline billing in all advertising and close the show," the Joliet Park District contract stipulated.

As it turned out, the June 20 Friday night attendance for Billy Corgan and the Machines of God show drew about 12,000 attendees. When the Joliet Park District presented its contract back in February, the contract indicated the Taste of Joliet hoped to sell 28,000 tickets, at $25 each, generating approximately $700,000 in revenue.

"Billy Corgan Put On A Great Show"

"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," remarked Brad Staab, the Joliet Park District Director in charge of booking the Taste of Joliet's annual music lineups.

On Friday night, Corgan was the only nationally prominent music act on stage. Friday's earlier shows featured more local talent, including Lockport singer Olivia Minogue as well as 7th Heaven, the popular Chicago-based band that has performed at Taste of Joliet for several years in a row.

After 7th Heaven finished, Return to Dust, a neo-grunge Alice in Chains-sounding band that formed in 2022 in Los Angeles, took the stage right before Corgan. Return to Dust was part of Corgan's summer concert tours and only cost the park district $1,500 in out-of-pocket expenses.

While Corgan and the Friday night crowd only drew 12,000 people, Saturday's country night was a definite bounce back in the right direction for Joliet Park District officials.

Dylan Scott Became Huge Crowd Favorite For Taste of Joliet

Even though temperatures reached 100 degrees by late afternoon and several people were being taken away on stretchers by Joliet Fire Department paramedics due to heat exhaustion, a huge crowd began to show up at the admissions gate by early Saturday evening. All in all, Taste of Joliet's country night drew 25,000 spectators ?more than double Friday night's crowd for Corgan.

Saturday featured three well-known national country music acts. The Joliet Park District paid $70,000 for a 60-minute concert from Gabby Barrett, $100,000 for a 75-minute performance from Dylan Scott and $200,000 for a 75-minute Saturday night concert from headliner, Brett Eldredge.

Hispanic Lineup Headliner Cost $65,000

While the 2024 Sunday Hispanic music lineup drew its largest attendance ever for Taste of Joliet, Sunday, June 22 featured intense 100-degree temperatures for much of the day, and the daytime attendance suffered a sharp decline.

The park district drew only 5,000 people this year and spent $65,000 for the early evening headliner, Los Rieleros del Norte.

Los Rieleros del Norte 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.

However, the Joliet Park District got off to a late start in terms of publicizing this summer's Hispanic music lineup. The park district was unable to announce the Los Rieleros del Norte concert until May 14 ? less than five weeks before the big show.