Former star of the television sitcom Drake & Josh, Drake Bell, continues to make an appearance at local venues throughout Downers Grove. Unlike popular chefs and famous authors, Bell is one of the only celebrities to consistently visit Downers Grove and perform in the local area.

Suzanne Jessen is a Celebrity Laezan, which is a personal assistant for rock stars, and works as Bell’s tour manager primarily while he performs in the midwest.

“It’s my town, and I’m apart of [Downers Grove]. I thought, why not bring something cool to our community.” Jessen said.

During a Singer-Songwriter Contest at Ballydoyle’s in Downers Grove, local artists and bands were selected to compete for a spot to open up for Bell and have 10 hours of studio recording time. The band Fenced In performed at the same venue with Bell twice, and Jessen selected the band to compete in the Singer-Songwriter Contest.

“He was different the first time I met him, but he had a ton of fans around him. The last two times I met him, he was really nice. He was friendly and actually remembered who we were which is nice because I thought we were just irrelevant to him, but he cared enough to follow us on Instagram,” band member of Fenced In Caitlin Foley said.
Bell’s most recent performance in Downers Grove was on Nov. 5 at the Tivoli Theater.

Since Bell has made several appearances in Downers Grove throughout this past year, Jessen plans book his next Midwest shows in Chicago.

“We’ve been here quite a bit, so [his performances in Downers Grove] won’t be for awhile,” Jessen said. “He definitely will be back, but probably more in Chicago.”