Cash for Kids Johnny Cash Festival!

Cash for Kids is Chicago's only Johnny Cash Festival! This year, we are celebrating 20 years of bringing you some of the best local bands on several stages in one of the coolest venues in Chicago.

This year's event boasts three stages with eight exceptional bands playing sets that feature your favorite Johnny Cash hits and other selections inspired by the Man in Black. Enjoy a wide range of live music -- from bluegrass to country to rockabilly to folk

Featuring Chicken Wire Empire and Iron Horse, along with Barrett Tasky, the Rock Islanders, Union Avenue, State of the City, Hodie Snitch and Reverie Stone.

Benefitting Pat Mac's Pack

About Pat Mac's Pack

Patrick McNamara was a selfless, fun-loving child who never let the diagnosis of a brain tumor burden him or prevent him from living life to the fullest. In Pat’s 13 years of life, he endured more than 15 brain surgeries, multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that made him lose his hair, a portion of his hearing and occasionally his energy -- but never his winning spirit and love for family and friends.

During Patrick McNamara’s 11-year battle with brain tumors, his family, friends and neighbors would often come together as “Pat Mac’s Pack” to participate in events that raised funds for pediatric brain tumor research and Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. After passing away at the age of 13, Patrick’s family and friends committed to continue to fight in his honor - incorporating Pat Mac’s Pack, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 2014. Our mission is to raise funds for pediatric brain tumor research and provide financial assistance to young cancer patients and their families.

Since our establishment in 2014, Pat Mac’s Pack has donated more than $1.5 million to help advance pediatric brain cancer research at Lurie Children’s Hospital and has provided financial support to more than 400 families with children battling cancer. In 2024, Pat Mac’s Pack made its largest commitment yet – a 3-year, $750,000 minimum commitment to fund investigator-initiated pediatric neuro-oncology clinical trials. This tremendous commitment will be accompanied by $500k of direct support to families over the same three years.

Time: 5 p.m. to Midnight

Cost: $25.