Sundays on the Square August 2023 is a series that began in June and continues with weekly concerts into September. Plan to get together with your friends on the historic Woodstock Town Square for an evening (5-7 pm CDT) to celebrate music, summer, fun, and friends. Read more below about Sundays on the Square, one of the best things about summer — and it’s FREE!
And starting this year . . . there’s more! On select Sundays, August 13 and September 3, Art In The Square and — Your Sister’s Tomato Wood Fired Pizza. Truly the best way to spend a summer evening in Woodstock or anywhere else. Read more below.
We will enjoy these concerts in AUGUST:
- August 6| Joe Filisko & Eric Noden
- August 13 | Dave Rudolf
- August 20 | The Lucky Pickers
- August 27 | Jonas Friddle Trio
August 6 | Joe Filisko & Eric Noden
About Joe Filisko & Eric Noden
Joe Filisko and Eric Noden are an American roots duo from Chicago Illinois. They have been performing and recording music together for 20 years. Their original blues songs, train imitations and harmony singing are reminiscent of the 1920’s and 30’s when acoustic music was prevalent. Joe and Eric use their virtuosity and song writing skills to illustrate nearly forgotten styles of American Music.
The blues and roots music duo— Joe Filisko and Eric Noden make an unforgettable impression. Their jaw-dropping virtuosity enables them to create more layers of sound and feeling than most full bands can summon, and both are high-energy, ultra-rhythmic performers. The collective result— in both their live shows and their recordings— are charged, dramatic performances that are simultaneously powerful and sophisticatedly subtle.
Just a few short years after their first meeting, Filisko and Noden are displaying their compelling musicality on the world stage. They’ve performed at the legendary Chicago Blues Festival, the Paramount Blues Festival in Grafton, Wisconsin (where some of the greatest of the early blues recordings were made); Sweden’s Eslov Blues Festival; and the Festival Ecaussines in Belgium. The duo also recorded the theme song for the “Sweet Folk Chicago” on the legendary Chicago radio station WFMT.
Joe and Eric are expert practitioners of harmonica and guitar styles that defined the blues in its earliest days but are now all too rarely heard. Both of these standout performers also teach and make it a point to share the insights they’ve gained from two lifetimes of deep research into the history of the music. German harmonica master Steve Baker invited the roots duo to teach and perform at the Harmonica Masters Workshops in Trossingen, Germany (home of the harmonica manufacturer Hohner), in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014-16 The pair has also offered joint workshops and performances at Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival, the Harmonicales Festival in France, and at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.
What Folks Say About Joe Filisko & Eric Noden
“Two marvelous musicians who have captured not only the sounds but the emotional spirit of some of the richest bloodlines of American music.” ~ Kim Field, author of Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers
“Joe Filisko and Eric Noden make a thoroughly convincing case that this music is the real deal and their spirited performances make it sound both fresh and contemporary.” ~ Dirty Linen
“Eric and Joe are possessed by the spirits of Howlin Wolf, Sonny Terry, Robert Johnson, Johnny Woods, Sonny Boy Williamson, Gwen Foster and transported listeners back to the 1920’s Delta.. We love Eric and Joe. Please send them back. ~ Mickey Raphael, harmonica player for Willie Nelson
READ MORE ABOUT JOE FILISKO & ERIC NODEN HERE – AND LISTEN TO MUSIC SAMPLES HERE.
August 13 | Dave Rudolf
About Dave Rudolf
Dave Rudolf is a long-time performer and a multi-award winning singer/songwriter who just released his 42nd album. And being the busy little beaver that he is, he’s at work on his 43rd and 44th albums.
Dave is a Gold Record, Grammy-nominated artist, 15-time nominee for Entertainer of the Year awards from NACA (The National Association for Campus Activities) and has 42 albums, many of which have won various awards. In the last 6 years, four of Dave’s albums landed in the NPR Indiana and Illinois regional Top Ten.
Dave is also an award-winning children’s author with three children’s books. He wrote for Disney, did a TV pilot for the All-New Captain Kangaroo several years back, wrote for Second City, had his songs in movies, TV shows, industrial films, and more.
Dave shared the stage with The Beach Boys, The Everly Brothers, The Mamas and Papas, Steve Goodman, John Hartford, The Smothers Brothers, Michael Smith, Megon McDonough, The Gatlin Brothers, Sha Na Na, and weirdly back in the day, Cheech and Chong to name a few.
Dave’s latest CDs are getting national airplay on various radio stations throughout the country. He also has writing workshops and music biz workshops should you be interested. Dave is currently touring in support of his new CD.
READ MORE ABOUT DAVE RUDOLF HERE – AND LISTEN TO MUSIC SAMPLES HERE.
August 20 | The Lucky Pickers
About The Lucky Pickers
The Lucky Pickers is an Americana/bluegrass inspired duo consisting of Despina Pafralides of Fox Crossing Stringband & Tiny Country, & Caleb Peters from Miles Over Mountains.’
When not traveling with their bands, Miles Over Mountains and Fox Crossing Stringband, the two multi-instrumentalists team up for an upbeat mixture of Americana and bluegrass driven tunes.
Both Caleb and Despina have performed across the country at numerous venues, festivals, and events.
See their full-time bands here:
READ MORE ABOUT THE LUCKY PICKERS – AND LISTEN TO MUSIC SAMPLES HERE.
August 27 | Jonas Friddle Trio
About the Jonas Friddle Trio
Jonas Friddle is a singer, songwriter and Old-Time banjo player whose songs have received The John Lennon Songwriting Award, First Place in the Great American Song Contest and a nomination for Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards. His tunes bear the marks of a musician who has done his time in pub sessions and square dance halls, and his writing is full of imagery, honesty and humor.
Friddle was raised in the mountains of North Carolina and learned to play guitar on a yard sale Harmony six string. He was already writing songs by the time he got to Kentucky at age eighteen. There, the bluegrass pickin’ and old-time dances turned him on to the power and joy of traditional folk music.
Jonas added a mandolin, fiddle and banjo to his arsenal and got a job slapping bass with the college bluegrass band. After serving his time in higher education, he spent a year traveling around the world playing music in pubs and living rooms. In 2007 Jonas landed in Chicago, started the Barehand Jugband, the Sleepy Lou Old-Time duo and began teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Since then he has released multiple studio albums under his own name and with the folk supergroup “The Majority.” During that time his music has won multiple awards and been featured online at American Songwriter, Huffington Post and Paste.
Recent years have brought Friddle’s focus back to songwriting and with the release of his latest album “The Last Place to Go” he puts out his best songs yet. A collection of sung stories backed by the sound of drums, fiddle, dobro, electric guitar, bass, organ and trumpet.
Jonas Friddle Trio Members
The band includes Jonas Friddle, Anna Jacobson, and Andrew Wilkins. Here’s a sample performance from last year’s Sundays on the Square for you to enjoy:
What Others Say About Jonas Friddle
Their sound is at once huge and intimate…Their enthusiasm is infectious. I was grinning like an idiot and bouncing along before I realized what was happening to me. ~ Erica Elam, The Chicago Reader
The electricity from the band took the crowd by force. I couldn’t help but smile and clap along at the songs. Not only did the band play well – but they all looked ecstatic doing so. ~ Pete Kosmal, Midwest Action
just…stunning. They felt like home and I love them for that. ~ Samantha, Folk Hive
...good music with an inventive and creative twist… ~ M.V. Casey, Banjo Hangout
Find out more about Jonas Friddle here:
- Website: https://jonasfriddle.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JonasFriddleMusic
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Friddle
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/barehandedproduction
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/520ITCsGsBGygf6deJiAK0
Sundays on the Square – celebrate music & summer outdoors
Sundays on the Square in 2023 run every Sunday, June 25 – Sept 3, except for July 16 (the Woodstock Folk Festival is always scheduled the third Sunday in July).
Enjoy some great bands from 5:00 – 7:00 pm CDT. We gather on the historic Woodstock Square, Cass & Van Buren Streets, Woodstock IL 60098. Shows vary, some with one and some with two acts, featuring local, regional, and national talent.
Restaurants on the Square are usually open on these evenings with carry-out items, but please confirm with specific places. Of course you can bring your own food items and picnic on the Square. Also, be sure to bring chairs!
Sunday evenings on the Square are always a memorable part of summer in the Woodstock area. Watch this website for updates and specifics on the bands. Better yet, subscribe to our email list if you aren’t already on it!
Now there’s more: Art In The Square
In conjunction with Off Square Music and on select Sunday evenings, in the historic Woodstock Square, a group of local artists will sell their work. Art in the Square joins Sundays on the Square on these weeks from 4:00 – 7:00 pm:
- Sunday, June 25
- Sunday, June 23
- Sunday, August 13
- Sunday, September 3
While you enjoy listening to some amazing music, you can browse and buy beautiful art! The artists will have functional, sculptural work and so much more in between!
Sponsored by the Clayworkers’ Guild of Illinois and the City of Woodstock.
PLUS – August 20 Sandie Dogs brings some eats, and we hear the food is great!
Watch our website for details about upcoming performers:
- September 3 | Hot Lagarto
For the entire Summer 2023 Schedule, check HERE.
Donations cheerfully accepted
We appreciate your contributions in support of music in Woodstock. You may contribute to Off Square Music and also to specific performers using the buttons in the left column of most pages on this site.
Brought to you by…
These FREE summer concerts are brought to you by Off Square Music, the Woodstock Opera House, the City of Woodstock, and the Woodstock Hotel/Motel Tax Grants to the Arts — as well as your generous donations. It truly takes a village (and a state, and a few cities, a couple of guys with wagons and an ice cream vendor).
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