The countdown is on to one of McHenry County’s most anticipated events of the year and tickets are going fast!

The McHenry Music Festival, formerly the RISE Up Music Festival, will be from Sept. 12 to 14 at Petersen Park in McHenry.

The festival’s headliner, country music star Bailey Zimmerman, will perform Sunday, Sept. 14.

Other performers include Zach Miller, Ingrid Andress, Redferrin and Dustin Lynch Friday night; reggae-rock band Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables, The Elovaters and Dirty Heads Saturday night; and Bella Cain, Bryan Martin and Flo Rida Sunday night prior to Zimmerman’s set.

“Honestly, our lineup is equivalent to that of major festivals around the country,” McHenry Mayor and festival co-founder Wayne Jett said in a news release. “Bringing in the reggae night is something different that people can’t find much in Illinois, and, according to our ticket sales, it’s proving to be a hit.”

The McHenry Music Festival, formerly RISE Up, first started bringing national acts to Petersen Park in 2020, with proceeds earmarked for desired community projects. It has drawn crowds of 22,000 to 30,000 people annually, with the exception of 2021, when the fest took a one-year hiatus, according to the release.

Upgrades to the stage’s size and location this year should prove exceptionally popular with both musicians and audiences, Jett said.

“Our old stage was roughly 25 feet by 50 feet,” he said in the release. “This year’s stage with platforms is roughly 120 feet by 60 feet. We’ve added video walls to the sides of the stage with live cameras for better viewing.”

Also enhancing viewing will be the stage’s new location in the area where the Fiesta Days carnival takes place, north of the railroad tracks and west of Petersen Park Road.

“It’s going to cost an additional $100,000 for us to enclose the area, but we will be able to accommodate more people more comfortably and with better line of sight,” he said in the release. “It’s wider. It’s just going to be an all-around better experience.”

Jett said the fest has raised almost $1.4 million to date, with proceeds used to fund the Fort McHenry splash pad, the amphitheater at Miller Point and a special needs playground at Veterans Memorial Park. Proceeds from this year’s fest are earmarked for a bike park pump track east of the existing skate park, west of City Hall.

“It’s a $3 million show this year,” he said in the release. “We started with small national acts and a small stage. Now we’ve grown to where we’ve changed the location, leased property for additional parking, added bigger-name acts, and now we’re renting the largest stage you can rent.McHenry is ready to shine, and we look forward to greeting music fans once again at Petersen Park.”

Ticket prices start at $49 and are going fast. Full details are available at mchenrymusicfest.com.