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Mike and Erin Lee
The Tillers
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Justin Wells
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Joslyn & the Sweet Compression
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Johnny Conqueroo
Crave Lexington, the fifth annual food and music festival presented by Windstream and produced by Smiley Pete Publishing, has announced its full music lineup for 2017. Taking place Aug. 12-13 at the Bluegrass Fairgrounds at Masterson Station Park, this year’s event will welcome 11 acts to the stage, which is presented in partnership with University of Kentucky college radio station WRFL 88.1 and the Lyric Theatre, Lexington’s historic venue and cultural arts center.
While the festival has brought in a handful of nationally touring acts in past years, organizers are focusing heavily on local and regional flavor with this year’s lineup, representing a variety of genres from Americana, blues and Motown to punk-inspired bluegrass and psychedelic blues.
Local duo Grits & Soul, who recently relocated to Lexington from North Carolina, will kick off the live music line-up on Saturday afternoon with their engaging, genre-bending Appalachian roots music. Self-described “foodies,” the duo recently appeared on the Travel Channel television show “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,” with an episode highlighting their music and the Kentucky’s Daniel Boone Trail scheduled to broadcast in August.
Lexington’s The Recipe for Gamma Rays, a local act that juxtaposes a blend of “pseudo-euphonic” vocal melodies over fuzzy synthesizers, jittering guitar and girthy bass, will take the stage next, followed by Driftwood Gypsy, who will bring their unique mix of psychedelic, jammy funk, soul and R&B, to the Crave stage.
Another musical highlight of Saturday will be rising young blues guitarist Treyvon King, the 22-year-old son of renowned local musician Tee Dee Young. King, who has been playing music since he was a small child, and made a standout guest appearance with Young earlier this summer at Smiley Pete’s inaugural Big Ass Bluegrass BBQ Fest, and brings a 7-piece band to the Crave stage.
High-energy local teenage rockers Johnny Conqueroo will also return to Crave’s stage following a breakout, early afternoon 2015 performance at the festival. Summoning the wise old soul of the blues mixed with the reckless youth of psychedelic rock, the trio will take the stage in a more prominent Saturday evening time slot this year.
Closing out Saturday night will be Joslyn & The Sweet Compressions, a rising local act . that mixes funk and R&B-flavored pop, fronted by powerhouse vocalist Joslyn Hampton and backed by a crew of veteran musicians.
March Madness Marching Band, an all-volunteer, Lexington based community-building non-profit organization disguised as an eclectic, high-energy and engaging marching band, will drive a pop-up, parade-style performance on Saturday evening as well.
On Sunday. Aug. 13, two “big bands,” Big Fresh and Big Maracas, will take the stage. Big Fresh is a quirky, 10-piece pop outfit led by Apples in Stereo member John Ferguson, who describes their work as “sanguine music for turbulent times.” With the intention to get their audience on their feet, Big Maracas delves into many branches of Latin and tropical music, with a special penchant for the great Cuban traditions and Brazilian samba.
Since forming a decade ago, Cincinnati-based strong band The Tillers have proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles, ranging from traditional folk and bluegrass to jazz and punk rock. The group, which has been awarded CityBeat Magazine’s “Cincinnati Entertainment Award” for best Folk and Americana act for five of the last seven years, will bring their magnetic show to the Crave stage on Sunday afternoon, and Lexington country/roots-rock songwriter Justin Wells, whose 2016 release “Dawn in the Distance” made multiple year-end lists and Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year for 2016, will close out the 2017 Crave music lineup, shining a light on the highs and lows of a life spent on the road with his signature rasp of a voice.
In addition to two days of live music, the festival will feature more than 50 restaurant vendors and food trucks, each selling food at $2, $3 and $5 price points; craft beer and cocktails; kids activities; food performances and presentations; a classic car show and more.
The full music schedule will be released in the coming weeks. Visit www.cravelexington.com for band bios, music samples and more information about this year’s event.