Michael LaMattina

Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge

Mike LaMattina has been banging on things and making noise since he was of single digit age. His father is a drummer and his mother and many aunts and uncles are all musical as well – so he had it coming!

He has toured with two separate Lake County-based rock bands (Cereboca & currently Poor Pauly), competed (and won gold) on the National level with a WGI drum corps three years in a row, and participated in multiple church worship groups.

Music is Michael's passion and he has no bias as to what he listens to, plays, or enjoys. From Bluegrass to Black Metal to Gypsy-jazz to Jamaican Dub, sign him up! Part of what he’s most excited about with being a Bitter Jester judge is the variety of musical acts the event presents each year.

Outside of the realm of music, Mike is also a professional Photographer, visual artist, and printmaker who has studied at Columbia College Chicago and the Chicago Print Maker's Collaborative.

Christ follower, husband, father of an adorable daughter, junk collector, advocate of tsundoku...

Oh, and in his spare time he is also the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Highland Park, IL, Chamber of Commerce. An advocate for community, and a lover of the arts, Michael is excited and proud to be a part of the Bitter Jester Music Festival!