Fly Free Fest Happens Friday-Sunday

  • Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Fly Free Fest, a family friendly festival, will be held Friday-Sunday at Cherokee Farms in Lafayette.

The goal of Fly Free Fest is to provide a well rounded music experience without the downsides of being a giant festival - lack of intimacy, long lines, undesirable camping spots, and overlapping of fan’s favorite artists, said officials.  

Review for the performers:

Among the headliners for the event are The Motet, playing Friday night. Started 10 years ago by seasoned drummer Dave Watts as a rotating cast of musical friends, today progressive funk band The Motet has refined their sound and vision into a dynamic and expressive force. The Motet features an astonishingly talented cast of musicians who enjoy a palpable rapport when put together.

Today, The Motet is touring nationwide for the first time in the band’s history, and are being hailed as “the best live band right now.”  Recent months have found the band’s audiences growing exponentially – with sellout shows from coast to coast including Portland’s Wonderland Ballroom, Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium, and Brooklyn Bowl, and huge festival plays such as Wakarusa, Summer Camp, Oregon County Fair, and Arise Music Festival, and now Fly Free Fest. 

Railroad Earth takes the headlining spot on Saturday night. This band, consisting of six incredibly talented players, have traveled all over this country playing their jammy mix of country, soul, rock, and more. The band has released five critically acclaimed studio albums, as well as one hugely popular live one titled, “Elko.”  They’ve also amassed a huge and loyal fanbase who turn up to support them in every corner of the country, and often take advantage of the band’s liberal taping and photo policy.  

Dan Deacon headlines the last night of the festival on Sunday. For a decade, Baltimore based composer Dan Deacon has been a fixture in the American underground music scene. Through relentless touring, Deacon built himself a devoted grassroots following. His breakthrough 2007 album ‘Spiderman of the Rings’ brought critical acclaim and exposed his work to an international audience. Since then, Deacon has begun expanding his output beyond indie/underground circles and has begun to emerge in the contemporary classical scene. 

In addition to Deacon’s solo work and composing for his own ensemble, he has worked on several acclaimed collaborations with So Percussion, including a 2012 performance at Zankel Hall, which Alex Ross of the New Yorker declared “one of the more entertaining and fulfilling evenings I’ve had in recent years.” Deacon has also worked with the Calder Quartet, Now Ensemble, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as well as composing for the score for Francis Ford Coppola’s film ‘Twixt.’ 

Deacon has performed his work at several leading music and art venues, including London’s Barbican Centre, Carnegie Hall, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian. His latest album ‘America’ was released on Domino Records in August of 2012. 

To view the entire schedule, visit flyfreefest.com/schedule.  

In addition to the music, each night will feature its own theme. Attendees are encouraged to come in their best outfits.  Friday will be Future Fun Friday (robots, lasers, metallic outfits, etc.,) Saturday will be Spirit Animal Saturday and Sunday will be Super Hero Day. 

Single day tickets will also be available for each of the three days and include a parking area for single day ticket holders.  

Sponsors for this year’s festival include Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Sweetwater Brewing, KZ106, and Solid Rock Live.

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