The Week in A&E by Sarah Tackett, 2004, August 26

New Events Celebrating Music, Art, and Literature

By Sarah Tackett

It is great to see new events emerge that celebrate Lexington’s artistic community. It’s great just to celebrate. This Saturday the 28th holds two such events worth your attention. The Lexington Arts and Cultural Council, otherwise known as LACC, is a non-profit organization committed to the development of a strong arts community here in Lex. Along with help from Alfalfa (a seminal supporter of this community), CD 106.3, and The Blue Moon, LACC is sponsoring The Lexington New Music Festival.

This Saturday the event will start at 2pm at the Downtown Arts Center on Main Street.(If you haven’t been to the Arts Center yet, or the new Alfalfa, which is right in the middle of it, it’s a great chance to check them out.) Bands will be playing in both locations so you’ll be able to go back and forth, and listen to whatever floats your boat. The Arts Center Theater will host McAtee, Slo-Fi, Dave Wilson Project, Stego, Alanna, Emily Hagihara, Club Dub, and Soulocybin, among other local pop/rock favorites.

Alfalfa’s music will stir up around 5:30pm. They are hosting more eclectic music from folk to jazz, world music to bluegrass—in other words, something for everyone. The bands featured include The Bill Farris Trio, George Glasscock & Charles Whittington, Philip High, Kevin Sparks & Friends, and The Biskits playing in that order. Ben Lacy will be playing his guitar, and Gypsy Dancers will dance between acts. There will be food at the event and Alfalfa’s is even giving a break to festival participants who order off their menu. So you don’t have to be a millionaire to go, eat, and listen to good music.

The Art Center’s Lobby will be filled with Artist and Boutique Booths for people to peruse throughout the day. Cricket Press, local artists Jessie Fahrenbach and J Todd Dockery, and the Black Market will be among those participating. Sticky, from 106.3, will be there to host the days events, maintain crowd control, and do whatever else DJs do. The festivities at the Arts Center will go until 11pm promising a full days worth of entertainment. Tickets to The New Music Festival are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Community Arts Development Fund.

Also on Saturday, The Dame will be hosting Brushstrokes and Artichokes, a benefit for the Susan G. Kohmen Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The event will begin at 7pm and includes a taste of downtown restaurants, an affordable art auction, and live music.

The door charge is $5 and you can bid on paintings, photographs, sculptures, fabric, and wearable art pieces by Kate Gohde, Bill Santen, Jesse Fahrenbach, Jessie Jones, Jon Moore, Jeffrey Scott Holland, J. Todd Dockery, Cricket Press, Irene Moon, Allie Olen, Jesse Weems, Dan Ross, and more. All bids start at $2, so you might actually walk away with something.

During the event, cellist Abbye Tackett and folk duo Mark Rothfuss & Corey Wilson will be performing. Participating restaurants include Alfalfa, Bellini’s, Vigny’s Cafe, Bistro 147, and Bourbon & Toulouse.

Later that evening, The Dame will host The Fakes, and The Swells, and a weird little band named J-Roddy Walston and the Business out of Tennessee. I heard their demo not to long ago, and I haven’t stopped listening to it since. The music is oddly hypnotic, completely ridiculous, and catchy. It’s pop, I guess. It’s pop music from vaudeville with lyrics about bling-bling and homeys. They’re total weirdos, I do not lie. Their website, jroddy.com, is equally amusing with bad poetry and unusual photography. They along with everything else should make an interesting evening to say the least.

If you have time this weekend you should be sure to support Limestone, the University of Kentucky’s Art & Literary Journal. Thursday, August 26th The Singletary Center for the Arts is presenting Limestone’s 2004 Celebration and Reading. A wine and cheese reception will be held in the upper gallery of the UK Art Museum from 6-7pm. The reading will follow in the Recital Hall and will feature the following authors/musicians:

Joe Survant, James Baker Hall, Gurney Norman, Ed McClanahan, Ron Whitehead, Sarah Elizabeth Ann Lederer, Maurice Manning, Cheryl Hopson, Bob Sloan, Wes Houpt, Fred Smock, Charlie Hughes, Eric Rickert, Dan Bernhitt, Shayla Lawson, Julie Brooks Barbour, and Steven Cope.

The event is free and open to the public, and free is never a bad way to start out an eventful weekend. n