The Jerome Chamber of Commerce will be holding the second Jerome Music & Arts Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 14 and 15, throughout the town. Last year’s inaugural festival drew an estimated 10,000 visitors and this year’s edition will offer more visual artists as well as 40 musical acts at 10 different locations.
“For years, we were the number three destination in northern Arizona for tourism: Grand Canyon, Sedona, us,” chamber director Tom Pitts said. “Giving people a good excuse [to come] doesn’t hurt. And having the music over two days in 10 locations means it’s moving people throughout the town, so the merchants were thrilled.”
The event is free unless attendees want to enter the main stage area.
“It starts at 11 a.m. each day, with activities scheduled until 10 p.m. on Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sunday,” the chamber stated in a press release. “A tent has been added at the basketball courts near the famous sliding jail with a ‘main stage’ for headlining bands and an ‘Acoustic Lounge Stage’ for solo performers with comfortable lounge seating. The tent will have a $10 daily admission charge with in and out privileges with a bar serving only quality Arizona wine and beer.”
“There was a great turnout last year and the crowd was amazing,” Destiny Diaz, the lead singer of Black Lemon, said. “We got to play right after the Naughty Bits and we do that again this year, they’re amazing as well. And it was nice, having all the different stages and things that people can walk around and see during the festival.”
Seventeen artists will be giving painting demonstrations in Upper Park, where attendees can enjoy live music and activities for kids, including face painting and a table set up by the Jerome Art Workshop.
“The first time we did the festival, we didn’t do much in the way of art,” Pitts said. “But this year we’ve got artists who work in watercolors, oils, acrylics — basically any medium you can think of. And with 40 acts there’s going to be a great selection from acoustic to rock ’n’ roll to jazz.”
“It’s a unique musical festival because a lot of people like to visit Jerome anyway, why not see it in its full glory?” said Francine Bop, lead vocalist and keyboard player for Bombed Out Cat. “This will be our second year doing the festival and it sounds like it’s going to be more fun this year.”
Bombed Out Cat’s approach to performances is to embrace improvisation and spontaneity.
“My son [Mark Nichols] is my drummer, we’ve been playing together forever, and our bassist is Lynzi Kat,” Bop said. “It’s a lot of improv. We formerly had a band that was pretty popular in the Verde Valley area for about three years called Cult 45 where we were an improv jam band. So this is kind of a very scaled-down version of that, and it’s bluesy, funky and psychedelic sometimes.”
“People should expect to be drawn in quickly with the show that we put on,” rhythm guitarist Steve Estes of Thunder & Lightnin’ said of the group. “It’s about the energy and the unique arrangements that we put on things. One of our hallmarks is [our] pristine four-part harmonies.”
“People had a great time last year, and our feedback was strong,” Pitts said. “And once you get a year of experience under your belt, you learn some tricks. So scheduling should flow well, and we’ve got a lot of really good acts … Come enjoy a good old fashioned street fair with music and art going on, and in a historical location.”
Attendees are encouraged to carpool. Free shuttle service will be provided to additional free parking lots at the Old Jerome High School and above the fire station. For more information, visit JeromeMusicAndArts.com.
