The Seventh Annual Spa City Rocktober Music Festival, set for Saturday, will once again be held at a new venue as organizers opted to bring it closer to downtown this year.
The family friendly, all ages event will be held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 420eats, the food truck court located at 420 Malvern Ave., with 10 bands or solo artists performing throughout the day and a wide variety of food and drinks available.
Last year's festival was held at 501 Lakeside, on the shores of Lake Hamilton in Royal. "I think it went well, but I have a feeling it could have been double had it been closer to town," Dean Agus, event director and coordinator, said Tuesday.
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The year before that, it was held at the former South Haven Tavern, located near Amity Road south of Hot Springs. Previous to that, it was held twice at the Hot Springs Farmers and Artisans Market and once at the Blitzed Pig, so moving it back to town this year was part of the decision-making process, Agus said.
"This place works beautifully," he said. By having it at 420eats, "I don't have to wheel and deal with food trucks or worry about putting up barricades. I don't have to worry about a stage. Everything's here."
"People who are walking around in the area anyway are going to hear music and want to come listen," Katrina Revels, who is in charge of the merchandise vendors for the event, said.
"I'm all about music. That's the vibe here. It has always been the vision of this place to have live music be a part of it," Stephen Inman-Crawley, owner of 420eats, said. "So when (Agus) approached me, I was all for it."
"We've played here a few times prior and we loved it. The vibe was great," Agus, who performs with his band, Crash Meadows, and as a solo artist, said. "I thought, 'Why not do it here?' I think it's going to be a fun time."
He also said "it could be something that could grow into something more. If it goes well, we'll do it again here. It's a lot of work setting this thing up and here it's all here already."
The headliner and final act is Lypstick Hand Grenade, which is "one of the more popular bands in Little Rock," Agus said. "We wanted to lure some folks from that area, as well."
He said the band "puts on a really good show. The female lead singer switches out outfits and wigs. They're kind of fun. She used to be with the band, Sol Def, years ago."
The majority of the bands were finalists in the semiannual Battle of the Bands, which like Rocktober Fest, is put on by ArtBeat Entertainment, which Agus owns, and most of the bands are also from Hot Springs, except Almost Guilty, which is from the Benton/Bryant area.
"They're the youngest of all the bands. The oldest is the drummer and he's only 22. Both the singers are seniors in high school," Scarlet Moon, also with ArtBeat, said.
Moon and Bryan Massey, with Live Sound Solutions, will be doing the sound for the event.
"They're like a 'School of Rock' kind of deal," Agus said of Almost Guilty. "They're really good."
The female lead singer of Brass Tacks, one of the other bands, was one of the judges for the Battle of the Bands, he said, and the Matt Barret Band, is led by Barret who is a manager at Riser Ford and "the guy in the red car who drives the celebrities around" at the St. Patrick's Day parade every year.
"He put a band together and will be the first performer. We're trying to get a good early crowd."
Another performer will be Wild Bill Willie with his band, Sweet Revenge, who Agus noted is "a nationally known Willie Nelson tribute artist. He's from Malvern but calls Hot Springs his home. He'll do the whole Willie thing. Puts on a good show."
Other bands will be Band Next Door, a finalist from the spring Battle of the Bands, and Kelvin, a finalist from the fall Battle last year, who are both also from Hot Springs.
Cold Crown, performing at 6 p.m., was the first runner-up from the Spring and are "kind of a Van Halen tribute deal," Agus said. "They're really good, too."
Agus and Greg McCuin of the band McCuin will "share an hour" beginning at 2 p.m., both performing solo.
Unfortunately, the actual winner from the spring Battle of the Bands, the Sugar Daddies, from Little Rock, "had to drop out," Agus said. "They were going to play last, but had some family issues and can't make it."
Originally, the event was going to start at 11 a.m., but after two bands dropped out, "We got a tighter window now, but it should actually be less hectic. We'll start wrapping up around 9 p.m. I think 10 p.m. is the curfew on the noise ordinance, so we want to make sure we're done before then. Sometimes if the headliner plays too late people start leaving, so this is good."
As for food, Inman-Crawley said the food trucks offer "Hibachi, Thai, Italian, southern home cooking, Mexican and BBQ. It's a little trip around the world. We also have a bar with beer, wine, seltzers, ciders, spiked punches, a couple of frozen drink options. A lot of Arkansas-made brews."
A variety of vendors will be on hand too, Revels said, offering everything from tumbler cups to T-shirts to jewelry.
"It's all kind of random. One thing I do is make sure we don't have two vendors doing the same thing. Each will have something different," she said.
One returning feature at the festival will be a raffle with an electric guitar and amp being given away to the lucky winner. Agus said, "Everyone who comes in gets a free ticket to win the guitar, but you can also buy more to better your chances."
Revels said they will be also giving away other items throughout the event, including camping gear "and other stuff."
Tickets are $10 and those there for the festival will be given a white wristband, but they will have red wristbands to accommodate those who are just stopping by to order food and leave.
"Maybe they'll decide to stay and get a white one," Agus said. "People should consider bringing their own chairs as seating space is limited, so folding chairs of any kind are permitted and advised for this event."
He also added, "For the Hog fans out there that are worried about missing the game vs LSU, we do plan on showing the game at The ArtBeat Tent on a flat-screen TV. This will be a fun event for everyone and a nice safe environment for kids."
The flyer for the Seventh Annual Spa City Rocktober Music Festival, set for Saturday at 420eats at 420 Malvern Ave., is shown along with white wristbands to be given to those buying a $10 ticket for the event, which will feature 10 bands or artists performing throughout the day. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)