Long-tenured but still-ascendent Chicago band Ratboys revealed Tuesday that they will headline this year’s Hillcrest HarvestFest, bringing their spirited brand of indie rock to Kavanaugh Blvd. on Oct. 17. After Lucius in 2025 and Glass Beams in 2024, the announcement continues the trend of larger, non-local bands headlining the annual fall festival, which benefits the Allen School.

Belying a name that suggests a harsher vibe, Ratboys’ sound is approachable and expansive, folding in elements of Americana and emo into their beautifully written songs. Fronted by Julia Steiner and together since 2010, the band released their newest album “Singin’ To An Empty Chair” in February, a new high-water mark in an already impressive discography. Tom Breihan of Stereogum, one of my favorite music critics, called it “about as good as American indie rock gets,” and the record is included in roundups of the year’s best albums so far from Rolling Stone, Paste, Consequence and Stereogum.

I caught Ratboys earlier this year at George’s Majestic Lounge and they lived up to the venue’s titular adjective, filling the historic spot with a majestic mix of hard-charging anthems and softer, more nuanced songs. My favorite version of the band is when they channel fellow Chicagoans Wilco (think “Impossible Germany”-era Wilco, in particular), building out their tuneful songs into atmospheric but solidly-structured jams that crescendo to satisfying conclusions.

Wes Howerton, owner of Hillcrest’s Control Records and a key force behind the larger Harvestfest headliners of recent years, announced the news on the store’s Instagram page and said to expect the festival’s full lineup soon.