Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Gearing up for summer festivals

By Katie Libecco

YOUNGSTOWN – As the weather breaks and area residents start opening windows, local event coordinators and promoters start scurrying to finalize details on their large, outdoor festivals.

So far, Valley24.com has learned of seven outdoor summer music festivals. There’s also weekly outdoor events, like farmers markets, movie showings and tailgating being planned.

JonesFest

The first festival on the calendar is JonesFest, slated for Saturday, May 31, on West Federal Street in Youngstown. It’s the first Youngstown Local Music outdoor concert of the year. Jim DeCapua says the event will be more of a festival with clowns, magicians, comedians, games from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the first band starting at 4:20 p.m.

DeCapua says it’s a “jam band festival, for the most part” and Youngstown-oriented. Bands on the lineup are DeCapua’s Jones for Revival, The Zou, Captain Braskey, Twelve Bucks (of New Castle), Winslow (of Cleveland) The Young Stownians, The Jahman Braham Family Band (of Columbus), Melva, The Devotees, Braille, Wild Trees (of Toledo, Zach Paxson, Dennis Drummond and Mystic WIP Hustler, originally of Youngstown, but now in Boston and Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sponsors for the event are still being solidified, with anyone interested in helping to sponsor the event or serve as a vendor instructed to contact Dan Crump at (330) 550-5996.

VexFest

Later in the summer, YLM will sponsor VexFest V, also on Youngstown’s West Federal Street. The date is set for August 17th, with bands starting to be booked in sometime in April, Fred Rafidi says. Details are still being worked out, as coordinators say YLM is currently focused on JonesFest.

The event will also be free, as it was last year.

Rafidi says they’ve talked about expanding VexFest to 50 bands, 10 more than last year. He also says they’re planning on talking to Rosetta Stone and Cedars to see if they’re interested in having a stage.

The largest change attendees may see this year would be the addition of a regional or national headliner.

“It’s all a matter of finances,” Rafidi says, noting they barely broke even last year. (“In fact, we may have even lost a few dollars,” he said, laughing.)

“We have calls out there, offers on the table,” he says, but says decisions haven’t been finalized.

ruKus

Just a week after VexFest, the coordinators of ruKus plan the sequel of last year’s festival at the Warren Community Amphitheater on Sunday, Aug. 24, from 1 to 10 p.m. So far, confirmed acts include The Kellys, Trevor Quillan, The Zou, Winslow, Danielle Lyn and DaBoondox.

Coordinator Moe Angelo, bassist of The Kellys, says the free event will help raise money for charity, as it did last year for the Hattie Larlham Foundation. This year Angelo says the money will go specifically to Hattie Larlham Foundation’s Creative ARTs program, which Angelo says teaches people with severe disabilities to make art through decision-making and questioning. Angelo also hopes to get musicians performing at ruKus involved with the program.

There will be no alcohol at the ruKus festival and Angelo says it’ll be a family-friendly atmosphere.

“You can have fun without drinking,” he says, noting that downtown Warren bars are two minutes away if someone is inclined to drink.

Things are still being planned, but there’s a possibility of an “old-school video game tournament,” featuring games like “Galaga” and “Paperboy,” in addition to a dunk tank full of local musicians. Another possibility that’s being worked out is an open-mic second stage at the amphitheater.

Angelo, a DJ for ruKus radio, says the Internet station will be broadcasting live the entire day from the festival.

Furthermind

Fellow ruKus on-air talent Trevor Quillan is coordinating the Furthermind Music Festival June 21st outdoors at the B&O Station with two stages. Quillan says the event will run from noon to 2:30 a.m. and will be free, but they’re asking patrons for a $5 donation at the door. The festival is in memory of Quillan’s father, D.M. Murphy.

Quillan says the acts are people he’s known over the years, and whose he and his father enjoyed. (“Except Matt Palka. My dad never had a chance to meet Matt Palka, but he liked his music,” Quillan says.)

In addition to his own performance, Quillan says acts confirmed so far are The Devotees, Winslow, Fourth River (from Pittsburgh), The Kellys, The Bedspins, Mike Davies (from Pittsburgh Band Product), Matt Palka, The Sun Kings (from Aliquippa), DaBoondox, Zach Loomis, S-Spomp, Jimmy McLoud, Chaibaba (from Pittsburgh), Jeff Perigo and The House of Commons, and Glenn Henry (both from the Laurel Highlands, Pa.)

“I’m trying not to have too many frills. I want people to focus in on the artists,” Quillan says. “I just want people to come and have a good time.

There may be no frills, but there will be vendors, artists and food. Additionally, Quillan says ruKus Radio will have people there broadcasting live and recording.

Bikes and Blues Bash

Another festival in the works is the Mahoning River Bikes & Blues Bash, slated for Saturday, July 19, at the Chevrolet Centre.

Coordinator Tom Weatherby says the event will be “the area’s largest motorcycle show — by far.”

The 16-band blues festival will include a poker run, with profits from that and entry fees for the bike show going to the Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley, Weatherby says. He also expects to have about 150 vendors at the family-friendly festival.

Weatherby says bands from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan and will begin performing at 2 p.m. on two stages. Also slated to appear at the Mahoning River Bikes & Blues Bash are popular motorcycle stunt riders StarBoyz, scheduled to perform four times.

Rusty River

Steve Novotny of Rusty River LLC says he’s secured a date of Sunday, July 20, on West Federal Street for the Rusty River Festival. The festival was to feature local bands and food last year, but was canceled days before. This year, Novotny says there will be one outdoor stage featuring local bands with as much emphasis on art as music.

Novotny says he’d also like to have the Rusty River Festival illustrate environmental issues, and would try to raise money and awareness for recycling, specifically among downtown businesses. He says he would have meetings this week to finalize details on that aspect of the festival.

Other summer events

While there’s no Bean Counter Cafe to sponsor a fourth annual Youngstown Wine and Jazz Fest, director of downtown Youngstown Special Events, Phil Kidd, says there will be four to six outdoor wine tastings and jazz concerts “like Jason [Logero] had.” Kidd says he’s working with Phil Moore of the Mahoning County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to coordinate the events, strategically placed around other downtown happenings.

Kidd says he’s also working with the B&O Station to have outdoor concerts starting mid-May/late June, but hasn’t finalized a specific day of the week. He also says the Butler Institute of American Art will be showing independent films this summer on the old altar of the Butler North every Wednesday, starting mid-May.

There’s also details being worked out for a farmers market on Central Square, downtown Youngstown. Kidd says the same people who run the Northside Farmers Market in the summer will be running the market from 3 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday.

Another possibility Kidd is working on is the incorporation of a Bike Night with the Party on the Plaza series at Buffalo Wild Wings Friday nights. Kidd noted that the location proposed for the bike night is traditionally where the motorcycles park, so “it’s practically a bike night already,” he says. Details have yet to be finalized, as well as a final schedule of bands.

The downtown Youngstown summer event calendar will be released May 1 in print edition and online. Kidd says many of these plans and projects still being worked out should be finalized in time for that publication’s release.

John Kennedy, Royal Oaks co-owner, says probably starting next home game for the Mahoning Valley Thunder, he’ll have an “unofficial tailgate lot.”

“That way you can bring in your own grill and cook, bring in your beer and drink,” he says.

Kennedy says the lot hasn’t been finalized for him to get the required F2 permit required for tailgating, but it’s in the process. He says there will also be a beer truck at that location, with proceeds going to a different charity for each game.