Local bands join inaugural JiveFest – Event kicks off a summer of local music festivals

A dozen Baton Rouge bands will perform at Mud and Water (174 South Blvd.) Sunday as part of the first-ever JiveFest. The free festival kicks off at 2 p.m. and celebrates the one-year anniversary of Jive Flamingo, a Baton Rouge-centric music blog run by Jessica Orgeron, Ben Herrington and Chelsea Layne.

The event will include 12 bands playing across two stages, food trucks, a raffle and more. Musical performances will take place inside the bar and outdoors. The lineup includes Café Au Lait, Captain Green, Denton Hatcher, Dolo Jazz Suite, England in 1819, The Hitchhiker, Liam Catchings, The Millburns, Minos the Saint, Speakeasy, Tess Brunet and Towne and Country Portable with the Adult Music Club.

Dan Callaway of England in 1819 thought of the idea for the concert and collaborated with Jive Flamingo on the event. Layne says JiveFest will celebrate the Capital City’s diverse musical talents as well as bring listeners together.

“We want to bring together music fans of all ends of the spectrum,” she says. “We’re all working toward the same goal and want to help spread awareness about the local music scene to everyone.”

Layne says local musicians have a lot of support, but are still trying to find a larger audience within the city.

“On a larger level, people don’t really know what’s going on with local music,” she says. “Our goal [with Jive Flamingo] was and still is to provide people with somewhere to go to find good music. We’re working toward getting more community support. You don’t have to go out of town to hear great music. It’s time for Baton Rouge to step up and embrace its music scene.”

To get a taste of some of the local musicians featured at the concert, check out American Thrift’s Jive Mix 2014. The first 25 festival attendees will get copies of the mix, featuring artwork from Kimberly Howard.

For a visual taste, check out the music video below from Minos the Saint for “Let Me Sleep,” which 225 premiered in March.

Later this month, Radiopalooza kicks off at North Boulevard’s Town Square May 31. And the Summer Beat concert series begins June 6 with weekly performances at 4264 Capitol Heights Ave. Look for more coverage of these events coming soon.