Why was Belleville’s patriotic music festival abruptly postponed?
A nonprofit organization spent eight months planning a patriotic two-day music festival with eight bands, including Head East, that would raise money for military veterans and first responders in need and help Belleville celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
The city arranged for its Liberty and Legacy Parade to end at the Southwestern Illinois Justice and Workforce Development Campus, also known as The Campus, where Freedom Fest would be held Friday and Saturday, June 26-27.
But Thursday evening, June 18, eight days before opening night, organizers abruptly announced that the festival was being postponed due to “uncontrollable circumstances.”
What happened?
“It’s complicated,” said co-organizer Barry Gregory, 73, former owner of Crehan’s Irish Pub, who came up with the fundraising idea last fall with Ryan Rothweiler, 44, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran.
Gregory mainly cited “logistics” problems, ranging from security to staging, promotions and sponsorships.
According to Gregory, many of the problems could be traced back to a last-minute venue change from The Campus football stadium to the soccer field after Southwestern Illinois College representatives expressed concern about potential damage to the stadium’s artificial turf.
The state of Illinois pays SWIC to manage The Campus, which the city bought from Lindenwood University in 2021.
Festival organizers had an on-site meeting with SWIC representatives and city officials on April 20. Gregory said that’s when they learned about requirements for turf protection. Among other things, the production crew would have had to lay down wooden planking for vehicles to drive on while the stage was being set up and dismantled.
“They didn’t say we couldn’t have the festival on the football field,” Gregory said. “It was just going to cost us $20,000 more (for labor and materials).”
Organizers settled on the venue change in early May.
Gregory said he understands why officials wanted to protect the turf, but he wishes they would have laid out requirements last fall, before organizers had spent six months planning.
Belleville City Council voted 16-0 in November to approve a request by the organization, Freedom Fest Inc., to hold the music festival at the football stadium July 26-27.
Turf installed in 2023
Jay Stokes, a SWIC employee who serves as site manager for The Campus, referred questions to Bob Tebbe, the college’s vice president of enrollment, marketing, communications and strategy.
Tebbe said SWIC wants to host large events at The Campus that bring the community together, and it’s very supportive of military veterans and first responders. He noted that the college operates a police academy and rents other facilities to law enforcement agencies.
Tebbe said SWIC representatives would naturally be concerned about damage that a rock concert could do to the stadium’s artificial turf, which was installed in 2023 at a cost of $543,000.
“We were definitely on the side of not having (Freedom Fest) on the football field,” Tebbe said this week. “But we followed up with, ‘The soccer field would be a really good second option for you.’”
It’s not uncommon for concerts to be held at football stadiums with artificial turf, but actions have to be taken to protect it, and that’s what was explained to festival organizers during the April 20 meeting, according to Belleville Mayor Jenny Gain Meyer. She added that most staging companies are familiar with such requirements.
Meyer said she wasn’t involved in discussions between SWIC representatives and festival organizers before the on-site meeting, which she attended, but that meeting probably should have happened sooner.
“I would always err on the side of caution,” Meyer said. “Any time you plan, especially a new event ... You can meet in person all you want, but meeting on site to really review the layout, I think that’s important.”
Meyer said the city didn’t ask festival organizers to change locations, that it was their choice.
At the City Council meeting on Nov. 3, 2025, Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore voiced his support for the concept of Freedom Fest but asked how the city could be assured that the stadium’s artificial turf wouldn’t be damaged, meeting minutes show.
Meyer responded that the organization would have to obtain its own liability insurance and that the venue would be inspected afterward to verify that it hadn’t been damaged.
“It really is unfortunate (that the festival had to be postponed),” Elmore said this week. “Planning an event of this size is very difficult, especially when you’re doing it for the first time.”
Other locations considered
Freedom Fest organizers felt they couldn’t pay an extra $20,000 to meet turf-related requirements, Gregory said, so after the April 20 meeting, they started looking at other potential venues in the region, including Arsenal Business Growth Ballpark in Sauget.
They decided in early May to move the festival from the football stadium to the soccer field on The Campus to keep it in Belleville, where they had key constituencies and major sponsors.
According to Gregory, organizers fell behind on promotions and ticket sales while dealing with challenges presented by the venue change that had to be worked out with bands, sound and lighting technicians, stage crew and security. The football stadium has tall double fencing and bleacher seating. The soccer field requires people to bring blankets or lawn chairs.
“I can’t say enough about the band Head East and their willingness to help us and advise us,” Gregory said. “They’re just amazing people.”
Organizers had a final meeting with city officials last Thursday afternoon and announced shortly after that the festival would be postponed. They promised full refunds to people who bought $30 and $55 advance tickets.
The Liberty and Legacy Parade will take place Saturday as planned. It will begin at 11 a.m. in the 500 block of West Main Street and go west to The Campus. Officials encourage residents to line the route wearing red, white and blue clothing and otherwise showing their patriotism.
A letter from Meyer announcing the parade and the entry form for units emphasized that the parade will be nonpolitical, with only current elected officials marching and no campaigning allowed.
“(The parade will be) a heartfelt tribute to the courage, unity, and enduring spirit that have shaped our country since its founding,” Meyer wrote. “This historic celebration offers our community a moment to reflect on the freedoms we cherish and the legacy we continue to build together.”
Freedom Fest Inc. is a Belleville-based, nonprofit organization that formed in October. It’s guided by a five-member board of directors. The festival also was being organized by the Ainad Legion of Honor and the Belleville Gear Jammers car club.
Gregory said the organization could help people who aren’t eligible for funds from The Backstoppers, which provides financial assistance to “fallen and catastrophically injured public safety officials.”
The festival would have featured eight acts over two days, including Head East, Shotgun Creek, Ainad Shrine Drum & Bugle Corps, Dale LaRose, Boulderdash, Aragon, House Shakers and Repeat Offenders.
Proceeds were earmarked for the Honor Flight Network, which honors veterans by paying for plane and bus trips that allow them to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C.
“(The festival is) still going to happen,” Gregory said, noting that organizers are now looking at other dates.
“There were about five different things that were a concern to us, and instead of throwing together a haphazard, less-than-stellar event, especially for the 250th, we thought it best to postpone it. We want to make it a spectacular celebration of our country.”
