Three local 30-somethings are producing a festival that’s very likely to rock the banks of the Grand River in Downtown Lansing.
Called Riverfest, the event targets Gen Xers. The first of its kind in the Capital region, according to promoters, it’s a combination of music from eight bands, skateboarding maneuvers, a breakdancing demo, open air bar, food fest and tailgate party, all in the parking lot sprawled between Omar’s and Impression 5 Science Center and adjacent to the river. They are expecting 3,500 people.
Jerome White, Shawn Elliott and Doug Johns, Jr., are the promoters and have invested close to $20,000 to make it happen on Sept. 19. Elliott and Johns own several properties in Downtown Lansing.
White works for Citadel Broadcasting but also promotes shows through his company, J. D. Live. He booked all the acts at Old Town’s Temple Club for five years before it closed.
Johns brought the idea to White and Elliott. He had been at a Red Bull party on the roof of a parking building in Detroit and wanted to replicate it in Lansing.
First targeted to be on the roof of the building he and Elliott own adjacent to the old City Club property, the party was eventually moved to the riverbank.
White believes Riverfest has one of the strongest music lineups he’s seen, with Virgin Records’ My Favorite Highway the headliner. “How to Call A Bluff” is their hit album. He calls the rest of the line up “eclectic” ranging from reggae to hard rock to hip hop and includes The Hard Lessons, a Detroit rock band, and The Elms, a rock/soul group.
Tickets are on sale online and at a few stores for $10 in advance. They will be $15 on site when gates open at 3 p.m.
Dan Henry, the beer distributor, will be bringing out its Trick Truck, a pickup truck outfitted with a wall of flat screen TVs and a grill so that Michigan State University (MSU) fans can watch the MSU vs. Notre Dame game right there.
White produced the Electronic Sounds and Image Fest in Old Town for years and enjoyed the pressure of pulling it together, and the pleasure of watching people have a good time, he says. His plan is to relive that feeling Sept. 19.
Source: Jerome White, J. D. Live
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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