Michael has been a judge since 2020
Michael Brook
Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge & Member of the Education Team
2014 & 2016 Bitter Jester Grand Champion
Michael Brook is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He also plays saxophone and keyboards for the Chicago Rock-Pop band ZORILA.
Michael graduated in 2020 with a degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently works in logistics as a freight broker. You might be asking yourself… "why is Michael working in logistics if he has a degree in Music Education? That doesn't make any sense!" Well, that's a great question! Michael will get back to you with exciting updates and, eventually, an answer in future updates of this bio!
“As a seasoned veteran of this competition and music festival, it’s amazing how vast the networking opportunities are that come from it!
I’m still in touch with people I met through Bitter Jester. I’ve even created bands and played shows with people I’ve met through this event.”
Anyways, Michael has performed in the Bitter Jester Music Festival with several bands over the years, placing 3rd twice, 2nd once, and 1st twice! He made many connections over the years having performed in this festival with the bands Xazz, Caroline & The Priority, and most recently, Out of Pocket.
Nowadays, Michael regularly performs around the Chicagoland area with ZORILA, headlining notable Chicago venues including Lincoln Hall, Schubas, and even the Field Museum!
In August of 2022, ZORILLA released a 4-song EP entitled "Addison." They've recently begun working on a new full length studio album, which, all-in, will run them just under the price of a 2017 Kia Soul!
“The 2017 Kia Soul ranks among the best in a very competitive class. The Soul has outstanding seating and cargo space, a high predicted reliability rating, and great crash test scores. However, its base engine lacks the power that other competitors offer.”
-US News and World Report
TOTALLY unrelated, but his band’s Venmo is @zorilaband.
Michael has also performed several times with Fizz, comprised of multiple other Bitter Jester Judges and former competitors.
In 2022 Michael also joined the Bitter Jester Education Team, helping to shape the future of this incredible festival and the feedback it provides young performers who are experiencing BJMF for the first time.
“Also, the thousands people in attendance for the final show is a cool bonus! All around a well-coordinated and thought-through event with amazing perks for young musicians everywhere!”
Michael is excited to continue participating in Bitter Jester on the other side of things as a judge (both Scoring and Verbal Commentary) as well as in the role of Band Liaison and general production support. He looks forward to all the great music he'll be listening to each year no matter what hat he’s weating! You could say he’s a Bitter Jester over-achiever. The folks at Bitter Jester sure seemed to think so, because later in 2022, they named an actual award after him.
Now, every year, one lucky musician at the Grand Finale receives the Michael Brook Instrumentalist Award (an MVP Award given to a performer who is not singing or playing drums, bass, or guitar, the other Bitter Jester MVP categories).
Michael retroactively received his own award in 2021 and it was long overdue.
