AthFest Music and Arts Festival
Athens, GA
June 26 – 28, 2015
Combining the best of an
free, outdoor, family-friendly street festival and evening club-crawl
showcases, AthFest is one of the finest examples of a community coming together
to support a good cause. In this case, all proceeds go towards AthFestEducates, a non-profit that “advances high-quality music and arts education
for local youth and the Athens community through direct support of school and
community-based programs,” including getting
musical instruments into the hands of school-age children. So you can feel good about yourself while
enjoying the many local and regional bands on the three outdoor stages during the
day and the ten or so indoor venues at night.
Although the outdoor festival is free,
the best way to truly experience the music is armed with a wristband so you can
get into the clubs on Friday and Saturday night. Be warned, the more popular
shows will be crowded and you may not get in, so plan your schedule
accordingly. But even if the show at the 40 Watt that you wanted to see is at
capacity and the line is stretched around the block, I can guarantee you can
walk a block or less and find another band that will excite you and keep you
entertained. In fact, I never come away from AthFest without unexpectedly
finding some new favorite band.
This year’s performers on the outdoor
stages include New Madrid, The Whigs, Sol Driven Train, Of Montreal, Ken Will
Morton, Lona, We Love Tractor, and The Baseball Project. Indoor shows feature
Cracker, The Whiskey Gentry, Contraband,
Roadkill Ghost Choir, Ralph Roddenberry Band (featuring Ike Stubblefield),
Barbara Cue, Five Eight, and Powerkompany. And if you’re into clever band
names, you might want to check out Percy Sledgehammer or the West VirginiaSlims.
AthFest is easily one of my favorite
summer festivals, so mark your calendars, grab the kids, sunscreen, earplugs,
an appetite and a good attitude, and meet me there. As Todd Snider says in Talkin' Seattle
Grunge Rock Blues, “Pack up the van, boys, we’re going back to Athens.”
Curtis Lynch
Check out this promo clip from 2014:
