Midwest Ska Fest

Chicago's Dopest Annual Ska Festival

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Midwest Ska Fest 2016 is this Sunday! Make sure you purchase your tickets in advance to save 25% off of the door price!

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Single Day Tickets Now Available!

Celebrate a weekend of ska with the 4th annual Midwest Ska Fest and the return of Skappleton for its 20th anniversary!

Skappleton will be taking place on August 13, 2016 at Tanner’s Grill & Bar in Kimberly, WI and will cater to an all-ages crowd. The Hub City Stompers and Dan Potthast (of MU330) will be headlining alongside Keep Flying (formerly Survay Says!), Max and the Invaders, Run and Punch, The Bishops, 4 Aspirin Morning, Beat the Smart Kids, Be Like Max, The Holophonics, and Fairhaven.

Midwest Ska Fest is being held at the Double Door in Chicago on August 14, 2016, and will be 18+ only. The Hub City Stompers and Dan Potthast (of MU330) will be co-headlining, with The Crombies, Keep Flying (formerly Survay Says!), Something To Do, Run and Punch, Beat the Smart Kids, The 9 Spot, The Bishops, 4 Aspirin Morning, Evil Empire, and Bumsy and the Moochers rounding out the bill.

Single day tickets for Midwest Ska Fest are now available at http://midwestskafest.org/tickets/. Single day tickets for Skappleton are now available at http://skappleton.brownpapertickets.com/.

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We heard a rumor that the rude boys have come back to the Midwest, and in a big way! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Skappleton, we're reviving the Midwest's longest-running ska festival in Appleton, WI this year alongside Midwest Ska Fest 2016 to bring you all a weekend-long, dual-city ska festival to the Midwest.

But we need your help! From now until February 15th, we’ll be running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for Skappleton 2016, which is scheduled for August 13th. With your contributions, we can secure a venue, cover the production costs, and make Skappleton 2016 as big as we know it can be!

Help us spread the word so we can ‪#‎BringBackSkappleton‬! IndieGoGo

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All the way from Nashville, Tennessee, the Soul Radics will be headlining this years Midwest Ska Fest! Headed by powerful female vocals, this septet of musicians has been making traditional ska and reggae with a more contemporary spin, since 2011.

With the release of their second album Big Shot just earlier this year on Jump Up Records, the Soul Radics makes for the perfect Midwest Ska Fest headliner!

Charley Organaire will also be joining the Soul Radics for a few songs! Mr. Organaire is of reggae/ska royalty, having performed on sessions with the likes of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, and others, as well as working with some of Jamaica’s biggest labels.

It’s an honor to have Charley Organaire grace the Midwest Ska Fest stage alongside the Soul Radics! We’ll see you on the dance floor this weekend!

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Ska, ska-core, reggae, dub, 2-tone - whatever your sub-genre poison may be, On Your Marx has you covered! The Chicago band will be returning to the Midwest Ska Fest stage for the second year in a row, and we couldn’t be more thrilled, especially because of how amazing their latest album, Shock Up Your System, sounds. 

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Coming to Midwest Ska Fest 2015 from the south side of Chicago is Tone Zone Skam! The ska/punk band adds some flavor to the typical ska sound with Spanish vocals and a horn line that’s set up front and center for those that enjoy their ska with a little extra zest. If you’re ready to dance, Tone Zone Skam is ready to provide the soundtrack.

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Who doesn’t love a well-used ska pun, especially when it ties in Stephen King, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman? The Skashank Redemption comes to Chicago by way of Columbus, OH as a seven-piece featuring two trombones, two guitars, drums, bass, and sax. Bring a change of clothes, because The Skashank Redemption’s set is going to get sweaty in all the right places.

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Bumsy and the Moochers will be playing their second Midwest Ska Fest event following last January’s Winter Ska Meltdown! The ska/pop-punk band from Chicago evokes the carefree stylings of late-’90s/early-’00s pop-punk with ska elements backed by a strong duo of female vocals. Don’t miss them at Midwest Ska Fest 2015!

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Chicago! August 8th! More info!

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Since their formation in 2010, the Circle City Deacons have brought a heavy dose of ska to the Indianapolis area! With the releases of two full length albums, they've been quoted saying it best, as the band has been "carving a niche in an often disjointed and ska-less local music scene."

Having shared the stage with The Toasters and the Green Room Rockers, among many others, the band members are no newcomers to performing. These guys are one band that you shouldn't pass up!

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With the desire to redefine what ska music really is, Something to Do have been doing just that since their formation in 2002. Their latest full-length album, 2012′s Music for Fine Dining, features 12 tracks that showcase all of their talent.

Rumor has it that this band has been known to dress up in their Sunday best to perform. Fingers are crossed!

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Going into their 5th year together as a band, Fairhaven is driving all the way from Davenport, Iowa, to join us at the Double Door this year. With two full length albums under their belt, We Gotta Ask Our Moms First (2013) and… Goes to Ska-llege (2014), Fairhaven will be sure to have a great setlist.

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Beat the Smart Kids is made up of Chicago ska vets, and it shows in their debut EP, Call in Sick. Harkening back to the glory days of mid-2000s ska/punk, BTSK re-ignites the torch that Chicago ska luminaries The Indecisives, Waste Basket, Still Alive, and The Damn Tracks once helped light up many years ago. Catch them on a stage rocking your faces with their tight horns, gravely vocals, and nerd glasses all in tow.

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Have you ever had ska music punch you with its horn lines, then run away down a smooth rhythm section buoyed by strong female vocals? That’s exactly the best way to describe Run and Punch (hence the name), veterans of the Midwest Ska Fest, as well as the Chicago ska scene since 2011. Made up of some musicians that can trace their ska roots back to 2003, Run and Punch’s infectious style of ska/punk harkens back to the early-to-mid 2000s era of third-wave ska that proves, even to this day, that ska isn’t dead.

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Founded in 2003 and very well known to the Chicago ska community, Evil Empire is sure to pack a punch at this year's festival. Throughout their time as a band, they've released two full-length length albums. The first, titled Evil Empire Sucks!, was released in 2004, and the second, Does This Genocide Make Me Look Sexy?, came out in 2006.

Evil Empire is comprised of a raw and gritty vocalist and a heavy punk-influenced group of musicians. Lyrically, the band speaks of social injustice. As they put it, "We play music together to promote peace, knowledge, and truth." They're sure to get the mosh pits started on August 8th.

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Formed at Illinois State University in 2013, the Chicago and Bloomington based Ska's the Limit offer up a refreshing take on the genre! With energetic members, relatable lyrics, and an impressive horn section, this band exhibits their passion every time they play. Earlier this year, the group released their first EP, featuring the single "Bring Ska Back." We're super excited to have them on our lineup!