The People have Spoken: Dylan Kroll wins the Fan Vote

By: Jonathan Jones 04/22/2015

Dylan Kroll of Waukegan wins the I Love Lake County Song Search Fan Vote

We opened the ballots in late March and ended our voting on Sunday April 19.

The people have spoken: Dylan Kroll wins the Fan Vote. The Waukegan songster and guitarist takes first place in the fan voting with his tune, “Lake County, the Bounty of Illinois.”

Kroll has an extensive music background, as he studied music at Warren Township High School and College of Lake County in Grayslake. Kroll also worked as a portion of the Six Flags Great America Acapella Quartet called Da Offbeats. He has performed at many venues across Lake County including the Oasis in Grayslake earlier this year.

Dylan also works at the Kroll’s Fall Harvest Farm in Waukegan.

The Waukegan dweller plays several instruments including guitar, ukulele, piano, bass, drums, accordion harmonica and flexes his abilities to beat box.

Now that he has won the I Love Lake County Song Search, Kroll received a cash prize and a performance at Mickey Finns in Libertyville featuring his song – Lake County, the Bounty of Illinois and a handful of songs from his catalog.

"I'm so thankful that Visit Lake County hosted a competition that showcases local musicians and songwriters," Kroll said in the Visit Lake County press release. "I feel very honored to have been selected as the Fan Favorite.

"It was a nostalgic joy to write lyrics about all of the places I have come to know and love in Lake County."

The Mickey Finn’s performance will not only be the venue for Kroll to showcase his talents on the live stage, but it is also the announcement of the I Love Lake County Ultimate Grand Prize winner.

The Ultimate Grand Prize winner will gather $1000 in prize money plus a music video of their song,  a professionally recorded version and the possibility to perform at a few Lake County summer festivals.

Continue here to listen to Kroll’s Lake County, the Bounty of Illinois and the rest of the 11 competitors including Diamond Z (Marcus Ziegler) and Rory Tyer Band of Libertyville, Squared (Griff Johnson) of Grayslake, Scot Arcari of Kildeer, Vessy Mink of Barrington, Kyle Schardt of Lake Villa, Chrissy Shanks of Lindenhurst, Dan and Jenny Trio (Dan Kortmann and Jenny Trio) of Lake Zurich, Matt Sams of Mundelein, Doug Marshall of Highland Park, and John Lambert of Wauconda.

Even though voting is over, you can still support your favorite artists. Listen and share on your social media with the #LCSongSearch.

Congratulations Dylan Kroll!