Having earned a reputation since 2007 for quality, original live music, as well as a host of unique family attractions — Skokie's summer street festival, Skokie's Backlot Bash, is only days away and is expected to draw thousands to downtown Skokie on the weekend of Aug. 25-27.

During the Bash's three days of original live music, downtown Skokie (in front of the Village Hall) will also host a carnival midway, a large beer tent with a small music stage, the Backlot Dash 5K Run, a family stage and classic films at the Skokie Public Library, a classic auto show, a bingo tent, a sponsor and community resource fair, exhibits at the Skokie Heritage Museum, a dunk tank and a large inflatable play structure. On Sunday, don't miss the farmer's market, a bike safety fair at Oakton Community College, and the annual Rotary Pancake Breakfast, featuring a bloody mary and mimosa bar. The Bash will begin on Friday, August 25 at 6 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 8 p.m.

The music kicks off with an '80s double bill from the UK, with The Alarm taking the main stage Friday at 6:45 p.m. The Welsh rockers are known for their hits "The Stand" and "68 Guns." (Full 1986 concert) At 8 p.m., move back to the beer tent stage and catch Chicago's own civic treasure, Devil in a Woodpile, for rowdy, bawdy, grooving, swinging roots music played the way it was meant to heard –– unplugged and part of a neighborhood party. Liverpool’s A Flock of Seagulls will follow on the main stage at 8:45 p.m., playing their unique blend of Grammy-winning new wave rock, featuring their international hits “I Ran,” "Space Age Love Song" and “Wishing.”

On Saturday, don't miss the beer tent stage during the afternoon, as renowned acts like Bach & Beethoven Ensemble belt out Irish drinking songs, and Matt Hendricks & Cash Curtis roll out the blues. James Elkington may just steal the day at 4 p.m. The Chicago Reader calls Elkington a "largely unheralded presence in some of the richest and most exciting music to come from Chicago." A stellar beer tent aside, don't miss Saturday's main stage acts, all playing unique, original music, including Frisbie at 7 p.m. One critic said of Frisbie, "the group's songs combine the melodic pop of The Beatles with the heavy-handed thunder of The Who and the tight-knit harmonic luster of The Byrds. (Live footage here.) Grammy-winning alternative-rockers Soul Asylum, will headline the Bash on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 8:30 p.m., rolling out their thundering, frenetic sound and their huge hits such as "Runaway Train", and "Somebody to Shove." 

On Sunday, Aug. 27, catch more great original acts on both stages all day, with Tributosaurus, a collection of some of Chicago’s finest studio musicians, playing the music of R.E.M. at 6:30 p.m.

Music Schedule

Friday, Aug. 25
6:45P:  The Alarm (Rock)
8P:  Devil in a Woodpile (Roots - Beer Tent)
8:45:  A Flock of Seagulls (New Wave)

Saturday, Aug. 26
Noon:  Bach & Beethoven Ensemble (Beer Tent)
1P:  Jodee Lewis Trio (Americana)
2P:  Matt Hendricks & Cash Curtis (Blues - Beer Tent)
3P:  Carsick (Rock)
4P:  James Elkington (Pop/Folk - Beer Tent)
5P:  The Differents (Rock)
6P:  Barlow (Early Jazz & Country - Beer Tent)
7P:  Frisbie (Rock)
8:30:  Soul Asylum (Alternative Rock)

Sunday, Aug. 27
Noon:  Dueling Teles (Jazz/Blues - Beer Tent)
1P:  Luciano Antonio Trio (Brazilian Jazz)
2P:  The Wandering Boys (Bluegrass - Beer Tent)
3P:  The Frantastic Sound System (Zydeco)
4P:  Paul Kaye (Blues/Ragtime - Beer Tent)
5P:  Louie Zagoras & Rollover (Rock)
6:30P:  Tributosaurus becomes R.E.M. (Rock)

For all of the fun, check out the entire weekend schedule here.