LIV Fest highlights local bands
The LIV Music and Arts Festival at the Orpheum Theatre this weekend aims to showcase live, independent entertainment.
In its second year, it offers up 26 bands spanning a variety of genres. Organizers hope that the event will expose local and regional musicians to new audiences as well as heighten appreciation for the Wichita music scene.
Festival co-founder Adam Hartke said that the weekend offers a perfect opportunity for people to experience “the sound of the city.”
“We tried to pick bands we’ve seen locally that put on a superb performance,” he said. “LIV Fest is a showcase of independent music that is on-par with other markets.”
The festival’s name is both a double entendre and a salute to local culture. LIV is the Roman numeral for 54 — as in Highway 54, just south of where the festival takes place. It’s also an acronym for “live in the vortex,” an allusion to the famous Allen Ginsberg poem “Wichita Vortex Sutra.”
“The event’s goal is two-fold,” said festival PR director Jamil Malone. “We want to give bands an opportunity to prove that there’s talent beyond the typical top 40 tunes we hear all the time on the radio, and we want to give the community a chance to see top-level, original music.”
The Orpheum’s indoor stage and the outdoor area immediately south of the building on East First Street will host the entertainment for the festival. Musical acts will begin outside at 7 p.m. Friday, while short films from The Tallgrass Film Festival will be shown inside.
Both stages will feature music starting at 3 p.m. Saturday. First Street will be closed between North Broadway and the alleyway next to the Scottish Rite Center for the festivities.
The festival will include some recognizable faces from last year, including the high-energy bluegrass ensemble Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, as well as the experimental indie rock outfit Zsa Zsa Ketzner.
New to the lineup are festival headliners Hot Club of Cowtown, an Austin-based western swing jazz trio, and Murder by Death, an Indiana indie alt-rock band.
“I’m really pleased that we were able to book such high-quality headliners,” said Hartke. “Hot Club of Cowtown has played all over the world. They’ve opened for Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Their music has deep roots, infused with jazzy improvisation and blazing force.”
“Murder by Death’s sound is truly out-of-this-world,” he said. “They use electric cellos to create a Southern Gothic sound that gets audiences moving and sort of haunts you at the same time.”
Other popular local favorites include in the LIV line up are Spirit of the Stairs, the Non, Abandon Kansas and Riverside 65.
“The local music represented complements the headlining acts well,” Hartke said. “Its sends a message that this is a town where touring acts should want to play because we have an audience that wants to hear them.”
This year’s festival features several changes from its original incarnation. While Commerce Street hosted the inaugural event, logistics and weather played a role in the venue change. Hartke, who is also the Operations Manager at the Orpheum, explained that excessive heat became an issue last June.
“Commerce Street was awesome, but there was little shade and lots of hot concrete. This move allows us to have an inside, air-conditioned venue. The tall buildings surrounding the outdoor stage will cool people off,” he said.
LIV Fest has expanded its schedule to include two days. They’ve also added in the element of film.
“We had so many quality bands to choose from that one day just wasn’t enough,” said co-founder Jennifer Ray. “Last year’s event proved that there is an audience for this kind of music.”
By adding Tallgrass into the mix, we’re showcasing the appeal of independent entertainment, both in music and in cinema.”
Malone added that the partnership between LIV Fest and Tallgrass was part of an ongoing effort to integrate music more into the annual film festival.
“Tallgrass made a real effort to expand their programming last year by including a showcase of music-based films,” he said. “The shorts showcase is part of continuing that buzz.”
Organizers say last year’s LIV Fest drew more than 800 attendees. This year, they are aiming for more than 1,000.
Ray, who also manages the downtown venue Rock Island Live, said that the popularity of the local bands as well as the appeal of the regional acts will boost those numbers.
“Wichita has a reputation for being a cover-band town,” she said. “I’ve seen firsthand the power of original music, though. People turn out for it. The stereotypes about local culture don’t match with the reality. LIV Fest gives the community an opportunity to prove that.”
If You Go:
LIV Fest Music and Arts Festival
Where: Orpheum Theatre, First and Broadway
When: 7 p.m. to midnight Friday and 2:45 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday
Tickets: Passes for $20 include a button good for both days. All-access passes for $40 also grant access to the VIP room.
Online: Visit LIVfest.com for more details and a full band schedule.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2011 at 2:54 PM with the headline "LIV Fest highlights local bands."