Promotional poster for the Love on the Lawn festival, being held Saturday in Elgin’s Festival Park. (Impossible Dreamz Music Group / HANDOUT)
Several top DJs, hip-hop artists and R&B performers are heading to Elgin’s Festival Park Saturday for the Love on the Lawn fest, which is also a homecoming for promoter Mike Page.
“This is an event of peace, love, and family,” said Page, who cofounded Impossible Dreamz Music Group with business partner Tyrell “The Cubist” Thornton. “Elgin has been through a lot lately. We want nothing but peace, love and positive energy. This is for our community and our hometown.”
Among those performing are Terry Hunter, Wayne Williams, Fast Eddie, Sundance, Emmaculate, Rodney Blalark, Dee Jay Roby, Angle F. Andre Hodges and Charles Horton. While they may not be household names, the artists are well-known in the music industry, Page said.
Hunter, a Grammy Award-winner, recently debuted the official remix of Beyonce’s new single, “Break My Soul.”
“It’s major to get him on this show,” Page said.
Williams is a popular producer in Chicago and DJ Emmaculate did the official remix for a recent Mary J. Blige single, he said.
The festival is from 2 to 10 p.m. and tickets cost $25 for general admission and $40 for VIP, both available on Eventbrite.com.
It was important for Page to make sure the festival was affordable for everyone. Impossible Dreamz is donating 10% of the proceeds to the Elgin Bears Youth Football and another 10% to a local nonprofit, he said.
There will be a good cross-section of music for people of all generations, Page said. He wants the festival to be like a family reunion, and it really will be for him.
Page was born and raised in Elgin, growing up on Willard Avenue and Bent Street and graduating from Elgin High School in 2003.
His grandmother, Mildred Starks, still lives at the home where she raised him and his four sisters, according to his biography.
“I come to visit there a lot to see my grandmom and my sisters, and nieces,” Page said. “Family is what I come back for and to get the vibes from my friends that I grew up with and get energy.”
His grandmother will be in the audience Saturday. He credits her with keeping him off the streets and focused on a professional basketball career. He went to college on a basketball scholarship.
But Page found his calling in music. He created Impossible Dreamz Music Group with Thornton, who grew up on Chicago’s West Side, in 2005. He and Thornton saw an opportunity to bring DJs and hip hop artists to Iowa, which was an untapped market, he said.
His first concert didn’t turn out as he expected.
“I lost $8,000 on it. I thought I was the best promoter in the world, but I lost money on it. You live and learn,” Page said. “The more I grow, the more I learn.”
Since then, he’s produced concerts at Des Moines’ Horizon Events Center, formerly the 7 Flags Event Center, featuring Migos, Machine Gun Kelly, French Montana and others. “We throw the biggest concerts in Iowa. We’re at the top of the game. Kids come from all over Iowa and Illinois,” Page said.
Page is also a hip-hop artist, producer and writer who has toured throughout the country opening for artists like Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, T.I., Yung Joc and UGK. He moved to Atlanta three years ago to pursue his music.
Impossible Dreamz has had several billboard hits, Page said. “Now that we built this up so much and we’ve been successful, I want to bring it back to my hometown.”
His family and friends in Elgin supported him throughout his career and always believed in him, he said. Page said it’s his duty to pay it back, and he also wants to influence a next generation who have dreams of making music.
“Stay loyal and grounded with your team that’s around you. Keep your morals, don’t change, and keep pushing forward no matter what,” he said. “That’s how my story has been. Kids think they are dreaming too big, but nothing’s too big. It’s all possible.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Copyright © 2022, Chicago Tribune
Copyright © 2022, Chicago Tribune