Saturday Hopstring Fest: Live Music and Craft Beer

As odd as Hopstring might sound rolling off the tongue, it makes perfect sense when you're talking about a daylong festival celebrating craft beer (hops) and live music (strings).

For Chicago Street Pub owner and fest organizer Mike Trizna, who loves both, the 12-hour festival from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at Silver Cross Field will be a little slice of heaven, said Kathy Trizna, Mike's wife and co-owner of the downtown bar/restaurant.

Chicago Street already presents live bands playing original music, Trizna said, so to take it to the next level and give these musicians a larger audience seemed like a natural progression. And to be able to keep the event downtown and in a forum as large as the baseball stadium used by the Joliet Slammers, which is co-sponsoring the fest, seemed like the best of all possible options, she said.

"We get a lot of acts in (the bar) that are wonderful," she said. "This is a great way to give them more exposure."

While it won't be a true craft beer fest in that there only five beer companies participating, they do represent a wide spectrum of styles, Trizna said.

The largest is Pabst, which they liked because it's the last American-owned beer producer in the country, she said. They're sponsoring Hopstring along with Goose Island, which will be serving only beers made in Chicago, and Two Brothers Brewing Companies, out of Warrenville.

The other brewers are smaller: Bells Brewing Company from Kalamazoo, Mich., and Founders Brewing from Grand Rapids, Mich.

The food vendors are all Joliet-based. Maurie's Table will be selling pizza slices; Chicago Street will do pulled pork sandwiches; Chicken and Spice, chicken chunks; McBrody's, burgers; and Jody's, hot dogs.

Tickets are $20, and allow holders to come and go as they like. Trizna said people can come to see specific bands or come in the afternoon and then return in the evening.

The main stage will be in centerfield, and attendees set up lawn chairs on a first-come, first-served basis. Umbrellas, strollers, cameras and small bags or purses will be allowed, but outside food or drinks are prohibited, as are items such as large backpacks, Frisbees and skateboards, according to the rules listed online at hopstringfest.com.

Tickets can be purchased on the day of the fest or in advance by going through the Joliet Slammers Web site. Click here to go directly to the site's ticket page.

"We're hoping a lot of people respond and we have a great turnout so we can keep doing it every year," Trizna said.

Here's the main stage lineup:

11 a.m. -- Cutthroat Shamrock

12:30 p.m. -- Paige & The Reverent Few

2 p.m. -- Ed Anderson

3:30 p.m. -- John Condron

5 p.m. -- Chicago Farmer

6:30 p.m. -- The Righteous Hillbillies

8 p.m. -- The Steepwater Band

9:30 p.m. -- Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts

Acoustic side stage:

Time/tba -- Paige DeChausse Duo

Time/tba -- Matt Biskie

DON'T MISS THE LATEST JOLIET NEWS. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER

FOR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TAKE, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK