New Music Festival Puts Fayetteville “On The Map”

ON THE COVER
Courtesy Photo
This Will Destroy You, who will be headling Fayetteville’s new On The Map Festival, pose for a portrait at Sons of Hermann Hall as part of the Red Bull Sound Select in Dallas, Texas. The band will play Friday, March 25.

This coming March, Fayetteville is going to be host to a brand new independent music festival that will feature several bands’ debut in the state.

The first ever On The Map Festival will take place March 24 and 25 at the Fayetteville Town Center from 4 p.m. to midnight each day. It’s all ages, and single day tickets are $25 and full access passes are $35. About four to five shows will go on each night. Tickets can be bought at onthemapfest.com.

On The Map is being organized by Roger Barrett and Samantha Sigmon, who could both qualify as “movers and shakers” in the arts and entertainment scene in Northwest Arkansas. Barrett has been booking bands in the area for several years, and Sigmon runs the DIY arts space Backspace. Both wanted to bring something new and unheard to the area.

There’s been a 10 year gap since the days Chris “Clunk” Selby used to book bands at the Fayetteville music hall off College Avenue and JR’s Lightbulb Club, Barrett said.

Courtesy Photo | Straight out of Birmingham, Ala., political southern punk rockers Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires will be playing Thursday, March 24 at On the Map fest.

In that era, once-smaller bands like The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Deathcab for Cutie, At the Drive-In, Pinback, and The Shins would often come through.

“It’s been hard to get those kind of artists at the mid-level through this area, and bands like Pallbearer and Adam Faucett have outgrown JR’s,” Sigmon said. “With this festival, our goal is to bring back those kinds of touring musicians and get them to think, ‘Oh, we can stop in Fayetteville, too.’ This is about starting a foundation for bands that fit that sort of vibe.”

The two organizers said they drew inspiration from Valley of the Vapors, an indie festival in Hot Springs, Ark, that capitalizes on the booking opportunity for bands exiting Austin, Texas from the South by Southwest music showcase in March.

Courtesy Photo | Hailing from Little Rock, Ark., Pallbearer’s doom metal will be filling out the Friday lineup at On The Map fest.

It’s evident the lineup for the festival was carefully curated, with several alternative/indie bands from various genres across the board on the bill.

This Will Destroy You, the featured headliner for the fest, is known for their dreamy, dramatic and occasionally heavy style that’s referred to as post-rock. Similar to Explosions In the Sky, the group is all instrumental and relies on the harmonic content within electric guitars and various ambient effects pedals to create evocative songs that hit you in the gut.

Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires and their rowdy, electric, southern rock power-show will find itself in good company in Fayetteville with Baine’s impeccable songwriting that challenges the Southern identity construct and rages against the establishment. Relatively new to the punk-pop scene, LA’s Bleached will soon be releasing their sophomore album “Welcome The Worms” on Dead Oceans in April (which is a big deal). Mike Adams at his Honest Weight, and indie rock band that hails from Bloomington, Ind., will also be releasing a new album in 2016.

Courtesy Photo | Featuring the sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, Bleached are a punk-pop rock band out of Los Angeles. The group will play Thursday, March 24.

One of our home-state reps, Pallbearer are now revered as the doom metal giants from Little Rock. The band’s most recent LP, “Foundations of Burden” was featured on several “Best Albums of 2014” lists, including NPR. Fellow Little Rock native Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass will be playing the same day on Friday, March 25, and has received several notable mentions and accolades for his powerful, yet stripped-down, approach to alternative rock and folk.

Tristen, a Nashville singer/songwriter, will be making her Fayetteville debut on Friday and later will play a solo acoustic show on Saturday. Her style is a blending of several retro pop oldies, like The Beatles, with experimental elements. Fayetteville favorites from Mississippi, Water Liars, will be returning once again to rock it out, and then immediately sweetly croon everyone to tears. The band is a songwriting powerhouse, with both Justin Kinkel-Schuster and Andrew Bryant releasing solo albums.

Courtesy Photo |
Mike Adams at his Honest Weight, an indie rock band from Bloomington, Ind., will be making their return on Thursday, March 24 for On the Map Fest.

“I’ve wanted to book these bands for years, but they haven’t been able to play here,” Barrett said. “These shows will have one-of-a-kind experiences you’d probably never see again like Tristen opening up for Pallbearer, and seeing new bands who are about to put out new music.”

Many of the vendors and local food that will be available during the festival is still in planning, but will soon be confirmed, Sigmon said.

A few Saturday events are still in development and are to be announced. Intimate acoustic sets at Block Street Records, Maxine’s and Nightbird Books are in planning. Tristen and Adam Faucett are confirmed for solo sets at Maxine’s on Saturday.

“The festival is a test,” Barrett said. “If it goes well we can better plan ahead for next year. The more success this gets we can be able to get larger bands. This first year is important to figure out how this sort of festival can do here.”

Courtesy Photo | Nashville-based singer/songwriter Tristen Gaspadarek writes songs with an experimental retro-pop vibe. Tristen will perform Friday, March 25.

Let me just say it again, there is a post-rock band coming to, and headlining in Fayetteville. Winds of change, y’all, and the wind sounds great.