Support local music this weekend at Mitch Fest with more than 40 bands performing live all day at both the Wild Salmon and Heffe's Saloon.
This Saturday marks the return of Mitch Fest, quite possibly Lafayette's one and only underground music festival, which collects the many alternative, local bands that are usually overlooked by Acadiana's musical majority.
"We're pretty much building up our scene in Lafayette again as sort of a band community in one big show," says Mitchell Briggs, the organizer and founder of Mitch Fest. "You can see a metal band or a punk band, a ska band, a jazz band. It literally is everything from Brass Mimosa, which is jazz funk, to Black Feratu, which is metal. It's all over the place."
The show boasts an impressive 45 bands on one bill running the gamut from punk to folk and virtually everything in between.
"When I started it, I wanted three to four bands to all play one show together," says Briggs. "That was four years ago. Bands kept wanting to add to it, so I just put every local band down on one show. Not every single local band, but a sh**load of them."
Traditionally, Mitch Fest has been held inside the hallowed walls of the Wild Salmon. Now in its fourth year, Mitch Fest has grown beyond its initial borders with more than double the number of performers it has last year prompting it to split an entire day of music across two venues: the Wild Salmon and Briggs' own Heffe's Saloon.
The lineup for Mitch Fest 2014 (as seen below) was designed through a literal rolling of the dice to allow each band their fair share of tightly fixed stage time without solely focusing on which bands can draw the most people. Performances will take place from 11:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. simultaneously at both locations.
"It's pretty much like Festival International," says Briggs. "We give them the pamphlets when people walk in and you can kind of plan out which bands you want to see."
Both venues will also have their own respective hosts with local stand-up comedian Sarah Hammer at the Wild Salmon and Joy Walters at Heffe's Saloon.
As for next year, Briggs says he is planning a major change for Mitch Fest's 5th anniversary.
"Next year, the goal is to move into an outdoor camping festival," he says. "We'll be outside for two days, Friday and Saturday, and see where it goes from there. I want it to stay affordable, but if we move it to an outdoor festival I don't want anyone to ever say something like I'd like to go to Mitch Fest, but I can't afford that ticket.' And I definitely don't want to turn it into something like what Bonnaroo does where it's $10 for a bottle of water. I want to make sure everything stays affordable."
Mitch Fest 2014 will be held on Saturday, April 12, from 11:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next morning at the Wild Salmon, located at 813 Foreman Drive, and Heffe's Saloon, located at 225 Wall St., in Lafayette. Admission is $5 in exchange for a single wristband that grants full access to both venues. For more information about Mitch Fest 2014 visit the event page on Facebook here.
The Wild Salmon
Heffe's Saloon
The Aggressive Folk Show - 11:30 am
Buz - 12:00 pm
Vaughn Gordon - 12:30 pm
Shavon Sweet - 1:00 pm
Matt Crochet - 1:30 pm
Mike Larson - 2:00 pm
Whole Damn Town - 2:40 pm
Yes Mr Denslow - 3:20 pm
HolleeStar - 4:00 pm
Elvis Depresslees - 4:40pm
Robert Rau & Mike Honore - 5:20 pm
Odie - 6:00 pm
Rebel Cruiser - 6:40. Pm
Jameson and The Baumbacks - 7:20 pm
Old No. 7 - 8:00 pm
Shotgun Lillie - 8:40 pm
Holy Ghost People - 9:20 pm
Neat - 10:00 pm
Vocatus - 10:40 pm
Zig the Ripper - 11:20 pm
Debris - 12:00 am
Brass Mimosa - 12:40 am
The Chaz - 11:30 am
Denver Nobles - 12:00 pm
Jake Townsend - 12:30 pm
Jared Sonnier - 1:00 pm
Jim Nobles - 1:30 pm
Dangerous D - 2:00 pm
Prestor Jon - 2:40 pm
Really Really - 3:20 pm
Downfish - 4:00 pm
The Interrupts - 4:40 pm
Captains Call - 5:20 pm
ZigZag Wanderers - 6:00 pm
Cones of Uncertainty - 6:40 pm
Electric Seed - 7:20 pm
Handsomebeast - 8:00 pm
Manafold - 8:40 pm
Black Freatu - 9:20 pm
Pillar 2 Post - 10:00 pm
Pinkerton - 10:40 pm
Renn Loren & The Tiki Town Castaways - 11:20 pm
Riptide - 12:00 am