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Apply to the 2025 Bitter Jester Music Festival!

Applications for the 2024 Festival are now closed. Check back in January, 2025!

Check out this year’s application stats in this short video…

Looking to apply to a Chicagoland music fest that’s challenging and fun? Look no further than Bitter Jester.

In the meantime, check out our online “How To Apply” Clinic + Q&A on YouTube! Learn how to submit the strongest application possible

You can also download the PDF of the presentation (updated for 2024) to read any time and share with your bandmates.

Now you’ll be ready to apply before the deadline.

BJMF is an incredible Chicagoland “battle of the bands style” Music Festival
Win a chance to perform at Ravinia Festival next summer on the beautiful Carousel Stage
Win a chance to perform at Navy Pier’s Beer Garden on gorgeous Lake Michigan
Win studio recording and mixing time courtesy of various music studios
Win other prizes including “Musician of the Year” awards and free gear courtesy of Sweetwater Sound in Indiana

The Bitter Jester Music Festival is a “Battle of the Bands” style event that consists of four standalone Preliminary Concerts and a Grand Finale in Highland Park, IL.

Competition bands and solo performers play on one Preliminary night. Preliminary Concert winners (plus four “Wild Cards” advance to the Grand Finale.

Performers be available to play at the Grand Finale in order to compete in a Preliminary Concert.

Our 2024 Lineup will be announced in May!

IMPORTANT 2024 DATES TO REMEMBER:

Applications Go Live: February 2

Early Application Deadline: March 15

Application Deadline: April 22

Entrants Notified of Acceptance/Nonacceptance: May 3-4

Satellite Series Concerts (TBA): June 3 & June 10

Preliminary Concerts: June 7, June 8, June 14, and June 15, 2024 (6 - 10:30pm at Port Clinton Square)

Wild Cards Announced: The week of June 17

Grand Finale Concert: Saturday, June 29, 2024 (Exact time TBA at The Lot entertainment space)*

Special Showcase Concert at Ravinia Festival: A 2023 BJMF Finalist will open for a TBA National Headliner (Date/Time TBA)

Best Of Showcase Concert at Navy Pier’s Beer Garden: Monday, September 2, 2024 (1:20 - 8pm)

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All prize monies generously donated by First Bank of Highland Park, a Title Sponsor of our Grand Finale Concerts!

Click here to read about the prizes & opportunities for our musicians as well as eligibility requirements.

*Note: We no longer hold our Grand Finale on Independence Day in Highland Park, IL.

Listen to a mashup of commentary from past participants

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook for the latest updates or email us any time: music[at]bitterjester[dot]com.

Still haven’t gotten your copy of Live at Bitter Jester Volume 2? Now’s your chance!

🎸 Black Friday Deals at Val’s halla Records!! 🎸

This Black Friday, go out and support our friends @valshalla and treat yourself (or others) to

Last but not least, to fully close out the night, the Bitter Jester 2024 Grand Champs themselves, Ur Mom @weareurmom hit the stage running and didn’t stop until they blew through the finish line, one final time at BJMF!

#bitterjestermusicfesti

VICK LUNA … live on @navypierchicago at the @bestbeergarden for the very first time! Great way to help close out the 2024 “Best Of” the Bitter Jester Music Fest!

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #supportyoungmusicians #liveonth

All the way from Ann Arbor, MI… Lauren Blackford, our 2024 Honorable Mention (3rd Place out of 24!) and Vocalist of the Year, just rocked the stage at Navy Pier Chicago’s Beer Garden!

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #supportyoungmus

Up next is Anna Louise Bramlett and her incredible band! Beautiful music at a beautiful venue… what more could you want at the end of the summer?

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #supportyoungmusicians #liveonthelake #lakemichigan #beergar

Graduating “Seniors” Venganza just blew the roof off the @bestbeergarden @navypierchicago with their final OFFICIAL set with Bitter Jester. #bittersweet
👨🏼&zwj;🎓👨🏼&zwj;🎓👨🏼&zwj;🎓👨🏼&zwj;🎓🎶

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #

Back again at Navy Pier’s Beer Garden… Claire-Mckenna, rocking out at the “Best of” the 2024 Bitter Jester Music Fest!

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #supportyoungmusicians #liveonthelake #lakemichigan #beergarden #navy

Second in today’s lineup, from La Crosse, WI… Charlieboy! Such a great kickoff to this year’s Bitter Jester “Best Of” Showcase @bestbeergarden @navypierchicago

#bitterjestermusicfestival #navyier #supportyoungmusicians

Kicking things off at today’s “Best of Bitter Jester” Showcase at Navy Pier… the incredible Holden Garcia!

The music @navypierchicago continues all day today until 8pm. Come on out… the weather’s fantastic!

@ho

Discover your next favorite band at the “Best Of” the Bitter Jester Music Fest at the Beer Garden on Navy Pier! Join us on Labor Day (Mon) from 1:20-8pm for some of the BEST up-and-coming musicians from across the Midwest.

The Bitter Jes

Ur Mom @weareurmom just crushed it opening for ZZ Top @zztop & Lynyrd Skynyrd @skynyrd at Ravinia @raviniafestival in Highland Park on the Carousel Stage!

Catch Ur Mom live next at the Best Of the Bitter Jester Music Festival at Navy Pier’

Guess what! Our friends and partners from @valshalla are celebrating their 52nd anniversary this weekend(!!) with their annual “halla-Palooza” event! It’s the biggest sale of the year, so… all of you music lovers go show them

A quick thank you to our audience and performers for making last night a huge success, right up to the very end.

@annalouisebramlett @northgroveband @rae - thank you each for kicking off, ending, and carrying us through the day, respectively.

And c

The moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived…Congratulations to @weareurmom, our 2024 Grand Champions! Best out of 24 in the entire season!

Stay tuned later in the year for information on how you can buy a copy of tonight&

Congratulations to @scorchedwaves our 2024 Runners-Up! Second place out of 24 for the season!

Stay tuned later in the year for information on how you can buy a copy of tonight’s performances on Vol. 3 of Live At The Bitter Jester Music Festiva

Congratulations to Lauren Blackford, our 2024 The “Ska-lers Honorable Mention” (3rd Place) Award Winner

Lauren is also this year’s MVP Vocals winner! 🧡

Stay tuned later in the year for information on how you can buy a copy of ton

All day long, our artists’ sets have been recorded and will be pressed onto a compilation vinyl for this year’s finale! You can pick up your very own copy of past years’ Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 from the amazing folks at @valshalla tonight

Huge thank you to the City of HP, @firstbankhp, @enjoyhighlandpark, and our product sponsors @ludwigdrumshq @sweetwatersound @humesandberg & @elmorepedals as well as The HP Community Foundation - and to all of the wonderful food trucks that came

Our two finalists are . . . @scorchedwaves and @weareurmom! Come to the Lot in Downtown Highland Park to watch these two great bands go head to head AGAIN (these two bands faced off as our two finalists last year, too!) for the title of Grand Champio

101.9 The Mix was our Media Sponsor in 2022!

Supporters of the Bitter Jester Music Festival:

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