The lineup for 2026 is out, but what Wayne Jett won’t yet announce is whether the McHenry Music Festival will return in 2027.
Promoting the September weekend concert festival “is a full-time job for me,” said Jett, who is also McHenry‘s mayor and owns Jett’s Heating and Air.
Being the concert promotor is not a job he’s paid for.
“I get nothing out of it – just the risk,” Jett said.
Costs to put on the show for 2026 are in the $3 million-plus range, and all profits from the three-day event go to the RISE Up Foundation, he said.
The bands must be paid, even if the show is rained out or otherwise canceled.
The first show was planned for 2020 – and then pushed back a full year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerts were held in 2021 and 2022, skipped in 2023 to give the Jetts and volunteers a break, and came back for 2024 and 2025.
The acts have been largely country music performers, with reggae mixed in.
It is that risk involved with putting on the show that nixed a reggae lineup for 2026.
“That one night of reggae … liquor sales were down by 75%,” Jett said, noting that they almost sold out on tickets.
But Jett and his wife keep putting on the shows “because I think it is great for the community. Standing on that stage and seeing 10,000 people roughly, each night, and the amount of fun people are having … it is worth it,” Jett said.
The hundreds of community volunteers also are a big part of a successful show.
“There are so many people and businesses that care and who want to give back,” Jett said. “It is a sense of community, and I think it is awesome.”
Since the first McHenry festival, the RISE Up Foundation has donated $1.2 million toward projects in McHenry, including a splash pad at Fort McHenry, renovations at Miller Point Park and the inclusive playground at Veteran’s Park.
The revenue numbers from the 2025 show have not yet been finalized, Jett said, adding that he expects to get that number in early 2026.
How those funds will be used in McHenry also is up in the air. Although discussion has centered on bringing a pump bike track to Knox Park, that may not be where funds are allocated.
“We will bring it to the [McHenry City Council] – the funding and where the money will be going to,” Jett said. “The basketball courts are not in the best shape, and more people use those courts than a bike track.”
The council recently approved spending $157,000 to replace the playground at Shamrock Farms Park, and $75,000 – including a $15,000 grant – for the playground at Althoff Park.
“Why add a park when we can’t maintain what we have?” Jett said.
He also has used the RISE Up Foundation to raise funds for other city projects. In late 2023, through community donations, the foundation raised $90,000 to install a skating rink at Miller Point Park. Donations over the past few weeks have covered the annual $6,000 installation cost, according to a post on Jett’s public Facebook page.
Additionally, the foundation presented a $20,000 check to McHenry Rotary to help with its Secret Santa program and other things it funds, Jett said.
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