The 11th annual Main & Mill StreetFest on Saturday will bring nine music acts, many that will cover songs of well-known artists, to downtown Festus.
The festival, organized by Main & Mill Brewing Co., takes place on Main Street, which will be closed off to vehicle traffic between Mill and Adams streets. There is no admission charge.
“Music kicks off at 1, goes to 11 p.m,” said Denny Foster, a Main & Mill owner and event organizer. “But, we’re going to try and have the street open for anybody that wants to come hang around, around noon.”
He said he expects thousands to attend throughout the day.
Scheduled performances include: 1 p.m., Meyer’s Music Lessons; 2 p.m., Festus High School Jazz Band performing the music of Gordon Goodwin; 3 p.m., Contraband as Buck Owens; 4 p.m., Party Hat Club as Blink-182; 5 p.m., Deep Green Sea as The Cure; 6 p.m., Apex Shrine as The Black Crowes; 7 p.m., Old Capital as Rod Stewart; 8 p.m., Matt F. Basler as Nirvana; and 9 p.m., Funky Butt Brass Band.
Foster said the performers, as well as attendees, tell him they enjoy the format.
“Kory Meyer (of Meyer’s Music Lessons) who leads us off, does a lot of booking of the bands,” Foster said. “We have a really good relationship with him and the bands in general. What it comes down to is we have a lot of talented musicians in the area, and when they decide they want to do StreetFest – especially when we’re doing it the way we’re doing it now where they’re going to cover a specific band – we let them make the selection. They pick it.
“It makes it kind of unique in that this is not only somebody they want to play and they’re excited about, but it also gives a pretty unique perspective as to how many different genres we can fit.”
All acts play for one hour until the headliner, Funky Butt Brass Band, plays for two.
“They’re going to be great,” he said of the Funky Butt Brass Band. “We haven’t had them yet. We’ve wanted to have them play. It just hasn’t worked out. So, this year, it’s really exciting to have them come down and put on what will inevitably be a great show.”
Regulars at StreetFest find plenty to listen to and many establishments open to purchase food and drink, Foster said. He also noted that the event attracts many people from outside of the area.
“It’s been really well-received, and we’ve been very fortunate the community has supported it for 11 years, and it keeps us going,” he said. “The festival’s a lot of fun. The bands are local.
“Main Street has made so many changes in the last 11 years. So, every year we have people coming out that are excited to see what’s new or what’s different on Main Street, because every year has proven to be better than the last. So, there’s a lot of excitement with that. Last year, I think every retail business, every restaurant on Main Street was open.”
Along with the music festival, the event will host JC Jump Market, a kids’ entrepreneurial market that Foster has helped start with Jefferson College.
“It’s a kickoff to a thing I call the Jefferson Entrepreneurial Collective,” he said. “It’s something, an idea I’ve had for a few years that is now a partnership with Jefferson College to spur entrepreneurial activity in the county, specifically with kids between the ages of 6 and 17 or 18 or so. The ultimate goal is helping kids develop their skills to start their own business and inevitably start something and keep it in Jefferson County and not leave the county.”
Foster said he also welcomes the Bottleneck Bridge Ride into the festivities. That event takes place in the morning, with the ride starting and ending in downtown Festus. The ride had taken place annually in August before moving to the day of the StreetFest.
Event sponsors are the Festus Tourism Commission, ATB Beer, the Festus Main Street Association and JC Jump Market, he said.
The Festus Tourism Commission awarded a grant of $25,000 to Foster for the StreetFest and $3,000 to him and Jefferson College for the JC Jump Market.
For information, visit the Main and Mill Brewing Company Facebook page.