There’s a new song sweeping the suburbs, focused on an Aurora native’s love for his neighboring town.
Sean Sacramento’s recently released track “Downtown Naperville,” has gone viral.
“One day, I was just at work, right? And all of a sudden, I just have this melody pop up in my head, ‘Oh, I love down-down-downtown Naperville.’ I’m like, ‘I gotta get this. It’s kind of fun,’” Sacramento said.
‘Downtown Naperville’ shows appreciation for the suburb
The song takes listeners through many features of the city’s downtown, noting highlights like the Riverwalk and Centennial Beach, and calling it “more cool than The Bean.” He brings it all together with that aforementioned chorus, “Oh I love down, down, downtown Naperville. Yeah I love down, down, downtown Naperville.”
“It was just sort of, like this appreciation for the area, and I kind of knew it would do well, because of its relatability aspect. So that’s kind of why I released it,” Sacramento said.
It’s a city Sacramento knows well.
“This is where I spend like 70% of my waking time, you know, I not only work down here, but I also use the library a lot. I go to restaurants here. I’ll take a lot of my friends here,” Sacramento said. “So it’s just where everything happens. You know, I could do basically 80% of the stuff I need to do on a daily basis right down here.”
Sacramento dreams big for future songwriting career
Sacramento’s songwriting dreams were sparked after watching America’s Got Talent when he was 13.
“I developed a skill over several years. I realized something was special in terms of the way that I wrote songs. So now it’s just really getting to those final stages of understanding what actually constitutes a great song in its entirety, and now it’s just getting ready to go all in with music,” Sacramento said. “I do all the writing myself. I do the singing myself, and I’ll also do the production myself, as well as recording.”
He honed his craft with other songs, including one spotlighting Ogden Avenue. But it was his homage to Naperville itself that really caught on, with an Instagram reel of the song currently at 421,000 views.
‘Downtown Naperville’ receives positive local support
Despite some negative responses, Sacramento remains focused on the positive support, including from Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli himself.
“Sean Sacramento just put our Downtown Naperville on the map – and in my head,” Mayor Wehrli wrote on Facebook. “Proud of you, Sean! I love Downtown Naperville too!”
Sacramento didn’t know it was posted.
“My mom was like, ‘Hey, by the way, did you know the mayor of Naperville posted this song on Facebook?’ And so I was like, I don’t believe it. So I actually checked it out. I was like, ‘Whoa, mind blown,’” Sacramento said.
Downtown Naperville Association’s Executive Director Katie Wood shared her support as well, saying in a statement, “We’re delighted to see a local teen celebrate Downtown Naperville with such an upbeat song that’s resonating across social media. We’re happy to see our downtown inspire this kind of creativity and hometown pride.”
Sacramento is thankful for the recent support from new fans.
“I do appreciate a lot of people who have gained this genuine support for me as an artist, because it really goes a long way just knowing how far I’ve come with music, and now just the potential that I have in the future with music is just only growing. And so I’m very, very grateful that all this is happening right now,” Sacramento said.
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