Many students will search for ways to blow off some steam this weekend after a stressful, hectic first week of class, and Tumbleweed is kicking off an 18-and-up back-to-school bash that will put any other parties to shame.
This year’s College Fest kicks off tonight and promises to be better than ever, with 10 local and regional acts slated to play live music, free draw beer for those 21 and up, and extreme pit bike races.
Tumbleweed owner Hank Moore said the three-day festival has been going on for 12 or 13 years and that it introduces new students to the Tumbleweed and local talent, as well as allows returning students to meet up or get reacquainted in a social setting.
In the past, Tumbleweed has boasted such big-name performers as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Jr. However, Moore said the plan for this year’s College Fest was to stick to regional and local talent.
“The focus on it is really having a platform to introduce regional and local artists to a larger audience than they would experience at a club or bar setting,” he said.
Attendees of the event can expect a cross of “Americana and red dirt” music genres, Moore said, with each act adding its own unique sound.
This year’s College Fest artists have all played in Stillwater before; however, the Eli Young Band is new to the Tumbleweed bill of acts.
The live music is scheduled to kick off at about 6:30 each night. Thursday night, Stoney LaRue, Bo Phillips, and Eli Young will perform. Friday evening, Mickey & the Motorcars, and Johnny Cooper will open for Kevin Fowler. On Saturday, Nick Gibson, Reckless Kelly, Brandon Jenkins, and Jason Boland & The Stragglers are slated to take the stage.
“Stoney and Jason used to be customers and started playing music down on the Strip,” Moore said. Stoney and his brother have both worked for me in the past, so it’s kind of neat that [they perform here now].”
In another familial twist, the singers of Reckless Kelly and Mickey & the Motorcars, who perform on different days, are brothers.
Boland is the College Fest veteran, having played all but one, if not every one, of the past College Fests, Moore said.
“He started out as a local band and has basically worked his way up to being the headliner, which is the prime position at Tumbleweed.”
However, Brandon Jenkins is the artist who has been playing in Stillwater the longest — between 15 and 17 years, Moore said.
New for College Fest this year, will be pit bike races, which are “mini-bikes, motocross style,” Moore said. Although the venue has been holding races for the past couple of years, this will be the first time they will be incorporated into one of Tumbleweed’s major three-day festivals.
Each night, several heats of bike races will be held before the first entertainer takes the stage. Races will also take place between different acts. About 200 riders will participate.
Also, in addition to the normal 12 foot by 16 foot rearview projection screen, this year Tumbleweed will experiment with a large LED screen, which is the “same size but mounted on a gooseneck trailer,” Moore said. “We want to see if it is something we want to use next time.”
He said the video screens enhance the performance for the crowd, especially when it gets dark outside.
Getting ready for the event was about a two-week-long process of mostly-outdoor preparation, including mowing, trimming, cleaning and setting up equipment in the hottest time of the year, Moore said.
He said he expects a total attendance of about 10,000 over the three-day event, with most of the audience being college-aged, between 18 and 25, although not all necessarily from OSU.
Despite a chance of rain this weekend, Moore said Tumbleweed has never cancelled a show.
“If it rains at 10 o’clock in the evening…we’re not moving the show inside,” he said. “If it’s a passing shower, we’ll just wait until the shower’s over.”
For those who didn’t purchase online three-day passes while they were available, tickets can be bought at the gate. The cost will be $20 for tonight, $25 for Friday, and $30 for Saturday.
Gates will open at 6 p.m. on Thursday with free draw beer until 11 p.m, open again at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with free draw beer until 7 p.m. A variety of food and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to purchase as well. The age to get in is 18, and 21 to drink. For more information on College Fest 2007, visit http://www.calffry.com.
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