The Smalltown Musicfest is back for another year of rocking good local music.
What originally began as a one-off event for St. Patrick’s Day at the Golden Legion Branch #122 has transformed into an annual event. This year, it is moving to Friday night instead of St. Patrick’s Day, which is on a Sunday this year.
“A big part of the success in the first years was the timing,” said organizer John Jenkins. “This is an attempt at the best of both worlds.”
Jenkins is hopeful that the community will come out on Friday, March 15 to enjoy a myriad of local music, all on one stage, rocking the night away.
Local acts Mellie Jane, Travis Jobin, Evan Peters, Eclectic Ensemble, The Pickups, The Dead C’s, and Smalltown Revival will all come together to bring some of Golden’s finest music to the stage.
“Bringing musicians together; it’s fun for everybody,” Jenkins said. “If everyone’s hanging out the whole night and the musicians are hanging out the whole night, it’s really fun… That’s an important part of it for me.”
In many cases, local musicians perform in each other’s bands, so there is a lot of overlap in players on the stage at shows like these. Jenkins says this is an exceptional experience for everyone, because it gives all of the musicians and people who come out to enjoy the shows a chance to mix and mingle and meet each other.
This night also brings Golden’s staples in the music scene onto the same stage as some newer projects and up and coming artists.
Smalltown Musicfest continues its tradition of bringing a vast range of music and people to the legion year after year for an exciting party.
“In that first year, I wanted to come up with a way for more people to come to the legion. It was something I threw together sort of as an experiment, and it worked really well,” Jenkins said. “Everyone seemed to really like it. Everyone had a lot of fun. It brings people out to the legion.”
Smalltown Musicfest kicks off Friday, March 15 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #122 (1011 11th Avenue S., Golden) at 7 p.m.
