As someone who has bemoaned the lack of a music festival with nationally recognized acts in St. Louis for years, I was obviously excited when a local music festival by the name of LouFest was announced.
Many times, if a band or performer I enjoy is going on tour, they either aren’t coming to St. Louis at all, are selling tickets at a very high price, or are performing at an 18 plus or 21plus venue. So, naturally, I was happy to see that LouFest is more affordable than many other festivals are in addition to being an all-ages event. Although the festival’s line-up doesn’t quite match that of Austin City Limits (the event that LouFest founder Brian Cohen modeled his festival after), LouFest has nonetheless put together a great group of musicians to perform at its first and— hopefully— annual festival.
The band I’m most looking forward to seeing is Broken Social Scene, a Canadian rock collective with an ever-changing lineup of musicians that has, in the past, touted Feist and members of the bands Metric and Stars among its ranks. Broken Social Scene has been releasing amazing indie rock for the last several years and I’m looking forward to hearing music from their new album, Forgiveness Rock Record, in a live setting.
Other stages at the event I’m eager to visit include She & Him and Titus Andronicus. She & Him, a ‘60s AM radio-inspired pop group fronted by actress Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward, recently released a great summer album called Volume 2 that manages to be accessible without becoming boring. They should be a crowd-pleaser even for those less familiar with the other musical acts at LouFest. I’m also excited to see New Jersey indie rockers Titus Andronicus because I’ve really been enjoying their newest album, The Monitor. Even though they were great the last time I saw them live, it was only a 45-minute set at a record store that I’m sure they would improve upon in a festival setting.
The genre diversity at LouFest is also quite impressive. In addition to the aforementioned bands, there will also be a solo performance by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, plenty of prominent local bands, and even a traditional string group.
Forest Park is truly the perfect locale for an outdoor music festival, so I’m glad to see that someone has finally capitalized on the eager audience and ideal location that St. Louis can provide for such a festival. It will be a nice change for St. Louis natives to not have to drive to Chicago, Austin, or even farther to enjoy some live music out in the fresh air.
