When I was 16 years old, I first experienced that moment.
I was in a sweaty event space at the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights, IL as an up-and-coming pop punk band was tearing through an impressive catalog of angsty bangers. As with the best of those moments, I didn’t know much about the band other than people were really excited about them and their name was Fall Out Boy.
About halfway through the set is when that moment happened. The world seemed to pause as the band crested on the wave of a crescendo. Everyone jumped at the same time, and for a moment, we were all floating, together, and took a collective gasp before erupting in joy. All of us, together, experiencing the same thing.
I am fortunate to have experienced that moment countless times in my life, where talent, emotion, and the sense of togetherness collide. It is a high that I cannot stop chasing. A disproportionate number of those moments have occurred at The Englert or at Englert-produced events, and this is because it takes a perfect confluence of circumstances for that moment to occur.
The Englert, over the years, has become an expert in facilitating those circumstances – from the ambiance and history of the room, to the visual aesthetic of the stage, to the cold drink in your hand, to the ease of the artist’s day, giving them the opportunity to put on the best performance possible.
We take great pride in facilitating that moment. We are always thinking about putting the right performance in the right space, and what we can do to improve the experience—for artists and patrons alike—within those spaces.
I’d like to say thank you for your support and patronage. Without our loving and generous community, The Englert would not exist. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown our entire world upside down, and arts organizations across the country are struggling to find ways to stay above board. The contributions of our Friends of The Englert, the Fellowship For The Future, and all of our ticket buyers keep us pushing ahead, inspiring and activating positive community growth through the arts.
If you are able, we’d greatly appreciate your continued support into 2023, in whatever way makes sense for you. And we certainly hope that we will see you at one of our events, so we can share that moment with you, and many more, for years to come.
With appreciation,
Brian Johannesen
Senior Programming Manager
