HS Board

Long-time Mount Prospect resident Joe Sonnefeldt, a professional percussionist and former member of the District 57 School Board, married Amy Barwan, a fellow musician who plays the oboe and English horn, on the front lawn of Sonnefeldt’s home on North Fairview Avenue in a very small, socially-distanced wedding on July 25. The celebrant was Pastor Rick Kesler of The South Church.

“I’ve lived in Mount Prospect since 1998 and raised two children here,” Sonnefeldt said. “I met Amy Barwan in 2017 when we both played in the pit orchestra for Disney’s “Aladdin” when it ran in Chicago. Amy moved here in June 2018 and she loves Mount Prospect!  Although we were planning to get married at some time, we had not set a date.”

“When theaters and the performing arts shut down in March 2020, we soon realized that we would be unemployed for a long time and that whenever our work returned, it would take a long time to recover financially. So, we decided not to let the pandemic delay our wedding indefinitely.”

“Our wedding party was limited to 11 people – ourselves; best man, Peter Brusen; matron of honor, Lisa Fako; my daughter, Nicole; Amy’s son, David Dowd; my parents; Amy’s mother and aunt; and the pastor. Everyone received a negative COVID test result before the wedding.”

The ceremony was live-streamed for friends and other family members to watch and then the nearby-ones got in their cars and drove by the house to congratulate them. Joe and Amy stood on the front lawn to greet each car and gave their “guests” individually packaged scoops of Capannari’s ice cream, special cupcakes from Central Continental Bakery and custom masks commemorating the day.

Photo credits:  Ashley Hamm Photography , Ashley Hamm Photography, Arlington Heights IL

Jay Goeppner and his wife, Britta Smith, have been living in Mount Prospect’s Triangle neighborhood for approximately 20 years, but until the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively few of their neighbors probably realized that Jay was a local rock ‘n roll legend. He performs with four different bands, one of which even bears his name.

During the summer of 2020, three of his four bands took a turn rehearsing on his driveway, to the delight of his neighbors who brought chairs and coolers to sit around and enjoy the music.  They attracted several hundred music lovers each time.

A native of the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, Goeppner moved to Mount Prospect to be closer to his “day job” as a baggage handler for American Airlines. In addition to paying the bills, that job has allowed him to travel the world and perform in 20 countries (including Liverpool, England during “International Beatles Week”) with his John Lennon tribute band – “Backdated.”

During normal times, “Backdated” performs as a classic rock band in bars and at festivals all over the Chicagoland area. They even served as the warm-up band for “Cheap Trick” at the Rosemont Theatre for one of the THE DRIVE radio station’s annual concert parties.

Goeppner joined “The Class of ’68 Band” about four years ago. It also performs at local festivals and clubs. “2 Jay Way” is a pop duo which was able to perform at outdoor venues during the summer of 2020 due to its small size. “The Jay Goeppner Band” focuses on original music. Goeppner is the lead vocalist/tambourine player with all of the bands.  

“Music has always been my passion,” Goeppner said. “I discovered “The Beatles” at an early age thanks to my older siblings and have idolized John Lennon ever since.”

“The driveway concerts came about out of the sheer desire to perform in front of a live audience again and as a way to give back to the community,” he explained. “I thought why not have an outdoor rehearsal and open it up to the neighbors?  It really was a spontaneous thing and we weren’t sure what kind of reception we would get but, as usual, the healing power of music won out!  People with their children — and even dogs — in tow brought lawn chairs, coolers and blankets and parked themselves on our front lawn for a two-hour concert by “2 Jay Way,” which I also live streamed on Facebook.”

“The whole world was literally watching and the people loved it! They wanted to know when we were going to do it again and those watching it on live stream wanted to live in a community like ours.  In total, I hosted four shows on our driveway with the last one featuring the “Class of “68 Band”.  We billed it as an Oktoberfest and the neighbors chipped in for a keg.  We passed out Bavarian pretzels and Gummi bears to the social-distanced crowd and some of us even served brats.  I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, the musicians or the crowd.”

“Opening up our block brought us closer together as a community and gave us a release that we all so desperately needed.  Although the bands didn’t charge for the concerts, the neighbors were extremely generous with their donations and tips. There’s a good chance that the driveway concerts will become an annual event.”

Photo credits: Mike Zarnek, Mike Zarnek Photography, Mount Prospect IL