Wednesday, August 8, 2007

You screamed, they listened: VexFest is back

By Sarah Poulton

Barley's owner Dan Crump said this is an arts and entertainment district

YOUNGSTOWN — After a four year hiatus, VexFest is back and better than ever.

Fred Rafidi, the original mind behind VexFest, and Barley’s owner Dan Crump sat at a table on the second floor of the downtown bar — the same table they’ve been sitting at for the past four months — finalizing event details.

Rafidi said it involves a lot of work, but the response has been amazing: “We’ve been working non-stop since April.”

He organized the past three VexFests. The last one, in 2003, attracted 5,000 people to Federal Plaza.

Crump and Rafidi, along with Jimmy DeCapua and John Jones, founders youngstownlocalmusic.com, are working together to make this year’s Fest bigger and better.

Crump said there were a couple reasons behind bringing back VexFest. The first, he said, is because the city needs it. Youngstown has a lot to offer; people just need a reason to come downtown, he said.

The second reason is that Youngstown has a strong music scene, and VexFest is an outlet for the bands.

“It’s able to be done here,” Crump said. “The city’s screaming for it.”

“People are asking for it,” Rafidi said. “Especially the bands.”

Rafidi said the biggest difference this year is the lineup. They worked hard to make sure there was something for everyone, he said.

“The scene was super-heavy before,” Rafidi said. “The metal scene is dying.”

“And jam bands are starting to pick it up,” Crump said.

They added 10 bands and five DJs to the mix, loading VexFest with 45 acts, as opposed to the previous 30-band lineup.

This year, local rock band Asleep will be headlining the show. In earlier years, a national act, such as Mushroomhead, would have been the main event.

Rafidi said the show is free, partly because they are not allowed to charge admission on public property, but mostly because sponsorship has picked up most of the tab.

“Ultimately, this is to revive the music scene,” Rafidi said. “There’s no one out there doing big shows like this.”

“This is an arts and entertainment district,” Crump said. “At the end of the day, you need these events.”

On the East Stage, sponsored by 93.3 NCD, “The Wolf,” headliner Asleep will perform at midnight. Also on that stage is local acts Tilt 360, The Zou and Lady Fantastic.

On the West Stage, sponsored by Valley24.com, Via Sahara is the big act, starting at 11:05. Also on our stage, you will here Jones4Revival and The Kellys.

On the North Stage inside Core, sponsored by Maynestream Promotions, you will here The Devotees, BJ O’Malley and Danielle Lyn. On the South Stage inside Barley’s, sponsored by Third Arm Promotions, you will hear Finding Mike Vagas, Grand Fury and Lucky Penny.

Rafidi said patrons will be able to eat at local restaurants downtown, but he is also bringing in a carney tent that will be making traditional fair food like sausage sandwiches and french fries.

Vendors will line the north side of West Federal Street. Participating vendors include Bike Me, Defend Youngstown and Rusty Water Apparel.

VexFest IV starts at noon Sunday. Federal street will be blocked off from Market to Phelps streets. Admission to the one-day music extravaganza is free and it’s an all-ages event.