Retro on Roscoe

Dull.
Nothing «retro» about it. I knew Roscoe Village hasn’t really ever had anything «retro» for awhile, apart from being an insulated blue-​collar area stuck in 1967 until yuppies knocked down your grandpa’s wooden two-​flat 10 years ago. Don’t come expecting vintage books, art, records, or other things that might earn the name «retro.»
The car show was somewhat good. As a classic car enthusiast myself, I enjoyed the paltry offering of cars that most of the strolling yuppies could care less about. Who needs a car when you can take an Über to Mariano’s 2 blocks away?
Food choices were abysmal. What little that was offered were sausages and other fried garbage. We ate at the Banh Mi place instead.
Overpriced cans of beer.
And so, so many vendors, especially Red Baron Pizza and Cupcake wine with multiple large displays. Felt like more of a trade show than a local street festival.
Doesn’t matter. Every pocket neighborhood on the favored Northside of Chicago has to have its own street festival which are similar, if not the same (i.e Star Events).

Food vendors were good but the website made it seem as if there would be antique vendors or at least more shopping to be had than the few subpar tents available. Was not worth the $ 10 «suggested» donation.

One of my favorite festivals. Probably helps that it’s just down the street from my house but also because the music is my kind of songs. Yeah, it’s a kid heavy neighborhood so be prepared for the stroller brigade but it’s not too bad.
Met the Unilocal rep here. He told me about the monocle feature that Unilocal now has. Had no idea! Very cool!

How could I not love the perennial summer fest that is literally two blocks down from my house? It hasn’t really changed since the first time we attended 1 month after moving into Roscoe Village in 2012. The money goes to our local schools and neighborhood projects… hopefully that includes the roads and fixing the drainage on certain corners that flood after a major rainfall like at Roscoe & Wolcott and Roscoe & Seeley… I digress.
Always enjoy Hairbangers Ball — they put on a great set and show with their outfits and coordinating big hair wigs, although one of the guitarists rocks naturally long curls. This year we also checked out Too White Crew, which was also entertaining. Not only did they do «Rumpshaker» and the staple «Ice Ice Baby», but also some Nelly songs and my personal college throwback «Back That Thang Up». The girls were better than the guys («Waterfalls», «Creep», «Shoop», etc). Sixteen Candles plays the usual crowd singalong pleasers.
There are a variety of food stations — I tried the Fat Shallot food truck (as featured on the Food Network) and their Grilled Cheese, which was good except for the spinach they snuck into the sandwhich. Their truffle fries were okay. The sangria stations have really good red and white sangria — not diluted, flavorful, and full of fruit chunks.
It is a family friendly fest so watch the strollers, kids, dogs, and people reliving their 70−80s youth. Beats the crowds at the other fests. You may get hit by the occasional air guitar or white person jumping to Van Halen’s «Jump» or gaggle of white women dancing and singing «Scrubs». We are in Roscoe Village after all.

Definitely one of the, if not the best festivals of the season. Terrific beer and food selection, along with some great music on 3 stages. Car show for the gearheads to boot!

I came into this festival with such high hopes only to have it end with crushing disappointment, emotions reminding me of when I learned a donor had been found for my kidney transplant, only to discover that donor was Amy Winehouse. With 5 blocks of overpriced food, worthless trinkets, and gimmick games, I haven’t seen this much wasted real estate since Kevin Federlein built a home recording studio. I even heard one Native American mutter, «You guys stole our land for this??»
The food features $ 7 sausage sandwiches and $ 9 hamburgers. Yes, nine dollars. Or as confused German festival-​goers said, «Dollars? Nein!» For $ 5, I played one of the carnival games in which I was handed 3 darts and asked to pop balloons. Although I popped all the balloons, none qualified me to win a big prize, but the girl at the booth gave me a smiley-​face key ring. I felt touched (not so much in an emotional way, but more of a Jerry Sandusky way). So be warned if you play any of the games. A dyslexic has a better chance of winning Wheel of Fortune. The lone bright spot of the evening was a shaggy street magician who put his colleague into a box before sticking a bunch of knives into it. Then the kids (and interested adults) were invited to go and peer into the box to see the colleague twist his body in such a way that he avoided all the knives. Yes, clearly these guys were going places, provided those places weren’t the barber, the dentist, or the high school equivalency testing center. And as usual with these festivals, they ask for an entry fee ($ 10 was what I heard), but remember, like stopping at red lights or foreplay, it is purely optional.
The headliner musical act on Sunday night was called Wedding Band. If this is any indication of the music that takes place at real weddings, it explains the high rate of divorce in America. The off-​key screeching would have annoyed deaf people. Indeed, the last person to do this much damage to the human ear was Vincent Van Gogh. Not that I have a problem with cover bands, mind you. If you can entertain and make a good living off someone else’s work, go for it (which reminds me, I need to send Mark Zuckerburg a birthday card and then go read some Shakespeare). It was more the song selection — Chumba Wumba and Fountains of Wayne? I was looking forward to getting Alzheimer’s so I could forget about them. Good thing we left before they moved on to Hanson and the Spice Girls.

Well, you know. This is managed by Star Events. It has the same 4 cover bands they have for every fest. Such a shame with such a great music scene in Chicago. I mean, Really? Retro? Really? Along with the 80s cover bands come some terrible beer and food choices, at least. That being said, it’s not entirely horrific if you go in the afternoon, I guess? Not to argue with the other reviewers, but peeeyoooo. I will definitely take a pass.

You can’t go wrong with 16 Candles…
Came here on Saturday night to meet up with a few different groups of friends. Had a great time. The crowd at this street fest was a little tamer and more family friendly than other street fests, which was kind of nice. I don’t spend much time in Roscoe Village, but all the cute shops and restaurants make me want to go back. I wish I had gone to the street fest earlier to enjoy it more.

Too White Crew, Hairbanger’s Ball, 90’s cover bands, hot moms, cool sangria, good friends, good times. Retro on Roscoe 2012 was kind of a repeat of 2010, when I last attended, and I’ve had a blast both years.
Nothing really makes Retro stand apart from any of the other Chicago Fests, but it just seems like a relaxed Fest where people come out to have a great time. Slight knock for not having a better beer selection, but you could head to LUSH wine and spirits and come back w/​some Daisy Cutter tall boys, if so inclined. And many of the bars on Roscoe rock it ’til the wee hours, afterward.

Horrible cover bands. Bad food. Crappy art.
If you live in the neighborhood, within a block of the stretch of street this festival takes place on, Retro on Roscoe is the worst thing to happen all year. Two full days and nights of trying to merely exist in your home without wanting to rip your hair out for the terrible music. Retro on Roscoe, you couldn’t end soon enough. No increase in volume on my television could possibly drown out the horror of bad cover bands playing country versions of Lady Gaga songs.

Same crappy 80’s cover bands that play EVERY lame street festival these days… That play the SAME SONGS !!
Same crowd of «I’m too old to be single» drunks that migrated to The Village from Schaumburg.
Chicken on a stick, wee hoo… actually pretty good really.
Can’t wait to here The Outfield every hour and a half.
Way to go Chicago !
Time to fire someone.

Found this festival to be one of the most boring one ever. It’s a yuppie family feast. Everything was sooo overpriced too.

What’s better than attending this fest on Roscoe, you say? Volunteering! See me at the beer stand. If you don’t like the band in front of you then go to the next 3 others that are playing. Don’t forget to say «hi»

I attended this festival for the first time this year, having just returned to Chicago after a long stint in CA. Perhaps I’m just spoiled by all the other fests, but I didn’t find this one to be all that appealing in terms of the music. For the most part, the musicianship was great, but it was what they played that I found really generic. Again, if you’re with a bunch of people who like to dance, it could be okay. That wasn’t the case for me, however.
Anyone who really enjoys mostly cover music will probably do okay here. I’ve never seen so many people just sort of «standing» — not moving at all, to what was essentially dance music. I love to dance, but no one I was with was interested and I wasn’t gonna go out there and go «dancin’ with myself.» Not in broad daylight, anyway.
The atmosphere is fun, but boy did they ever get a late start! I was there for the beginning and the crowd was so thin that Second City, who graciously had improv performers there, canceled their gig because there were basically no people at 12:30. .. they were scheduled to go on at 12. I was really disappointed. But because I showed up and was enthusiastic, they guys took pity on me and gave me a drop in and house ensemble passes, which I fully intend to take advantage of. When I was living in the Gold Coast, I used to frequent the after-​show improvs whenever I could.
And now back to our program. There are tons of booths with stuff being sold, which is usually what goes on at any fest. I get that. But I’m one of those people who really enjoys original music by local bands. And the street food, which looked good, but I was uninspired and opted to have some beverages and leave after a few hours.
I really wanted to love this fest, but alas, I can’t say that I did. That would be a lie. And I do not lie in my reviews.
I think this fest is also really great for kids — there is a lot for them to do and it didn’t seem as overcrowded as some of the other fests tend to get.
I’m sure that I probably won’t go at all next year, unless the people I go with like to dance!

Maybe it was the awesome Saturday night weather. Maybe it was the group I was with. Maybe it is the cute cute area of Roscoe Village. I LOVE Retro on Roscoe. I love the area, I love the bands. I love the vendors, I love the people. I love the white wine sangria from Rebel/​Waterhouse. I was in full on «loving this mode»
Too White Crew, Hairbangers. Also I just found out that Mike and Joe is a great cover band. Why no one told me this and it is almost the end of fest season, I will never know. (Argh) In any case, Retro on Roscoe is the bees knees.
Go for the music, stay for the atmosphere. It looked like the vendors were local businesses so support your local businesses as well!

This is one of the fests that we keep visiting year after year.
Very laid back, well laid out, family friendly and great food and entertainment make this one of our favorite fests.
There’s something for everyone here. A section for the little ones, complete with an artist creating balloon animals. There’s the different booths selling beaded jewelry, clothing, purses and my favorite this year – wooden retro-​looking signs with cute slogans/​sayings. Got a cute sign saying «Go Jump in the Lake» for my cousin’s lake house.
I liked that they had white or red sangria for purchase in case you’re not in the mood for beer. Typical fest food – deep fried goodies, grilled meats, fruit slushies and what I really wanted to try this year – Cevapici!
The music was good and kept everyone in a happy mood. As others have said, lots of strollers so watch your feet!

Retro on Roscoe is one of the bigger and better fests held during the summer. It’s not as big as Taste of Lincoln Avenue, but I think it’s better. You know once Retro is over that the best of the fest season is also over with it and that it’s time to start looking forward to smaller fests and cooler temps.
Retro is shockingly a fest just like all the other fests. It’s people standing in the street drinking beer, eating and listening to music. But it is one of the better fests for some reason. I think it’s because I’ve always met friendly people there and run into people I know. It’s certainly not the hot mess that is Taste of Lincoln Avenue.
This year, Retro did the beer situation up right. They set up a beer truck with taps on both sides and surrounded it with high top rectangular tables, which acted as a impromptu bar. Great call. Getting beer at this fest was a snap. Other fests should take heed of this small, but important, detail.
Another important detail Retro got right this year, after several years of failing, was the portable outhouses. They had plenty of them this year, and they were clean. You can’t underestimate how important the outhouse situation is at a fest. In years past, Retro’s outhouse situation was a long line of 50 people. That’s not quick enough for several beers on a somewhat empty stomach. Good job, Retro, for rectifying that situation this year.
As for the bands, it was the usual stuff you see every weekend at fests — Hairbanger’s Ball and Sixteen Candles for the 149^th time. We opted to remain on the Hairbanger’s side right by the beer the entire night. They are actually incorporating «Bad Romance» into their set list these days right next to Metallica. Uh, okay.
The volunteers at Retro get cool t-​shirts to wear for the fest. They have an «O» on the front with a «retr» encased within the «O.» This year’s t-​shirt was white with red trim. I always thought the design of these was pretty sharp. The ex had a blue one and a brown one from her days of volunteering at Retro. Loved the blue one. Hated the brown one. Miraculously, I did not cross paths with her at this fest for the first time in five years. Whoa-​oh-​oh-​oh-​ooooh-​oh-​oh-​oh-​ooh, whoa-​oh-​oh. Just kidding. How’s yer ma?
Five stars for Retro. I’ll be back to Roscoe for the Guinness Oyster Fest next month.

This is a pretty cool festival. It almost has a carnival atmosphere in this area. Lots of games and other junk like that. That will bring along kids with their parents (this is the Roscoe Village/​North Center/​Hamlin Park area afterall).
There are no D-​bags that you can find in Lincoln Park, there is no attitudes. Just come and enjoy the good times.
The only thing that weirded me out was the dude selling butterflies that he killed and mounted between glass. Leia and I talked to him (cause that was weird to see at a fair), and he said that he and his wife own a butterfly farm in Peru. Then he said its not really a farm, as he does not raise them nor have a mesh roof to keep them in there, more like a piece of land that butterfly’s naturally go to. So it turns out he kills them and mounts them. The whole time I couldn’t help to think that he uses his proceeds to purchase his yearly subscription to World of Warcraft. I bet he’s pawning newbs right now (did I say that correct?).
My best tip on this place is go to Lush wine and spirits to buy your beers to walk around and drink. You can get a good good beer for $ 5 instead of crappy bud.
Plus who doesn’t love Hair Bangers Ball, 16 Candles, Mike and Joe, and Too White Crew?

If you’re not a fan of small children or the stroller set don’t come here while the sun’s still out.
You can thank me later.

No popped collars! Yey!!! There were, however, some sweater dresses (really?) and a bit of teased 80s hair.
There was an abundance of beer /​beverage tents and food choices. Since I had the foresight to bring my own sangria (!) I did not need to purchase any… As far as bathrooms go, we hopped out of the festival and into Mulligans, bought a shot, used the bathroom, and were on our merry way. (Mulligans, by the way, has expanded and it’s looking pretty nice!)
The festival crowd, for the most part, was a vast improvement over Lincoln Park’s people. Too White Crew was the first band we saw; they were good, but not necessarily one I’d plan my festival around. Sixteen Candles didn’t disappoint.
If I weren’t going to Lollapalooza today, I’d be back for day 2 on Retro on Roscoe!