Tonight, the KDHX (88.1 FM) affiliated Twangfest Festival kicks off tonight with a sold-out show at the Schlafly Tap Room featuring Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three, Humming House and Prairie Rehab. The festivities continue through Sunday and the lineup is impressive throughout; you can see the full thing below.
Twangfest is unique among St. Louis music experiences. It is as intimate on any given night as a club show (because it is), but overall it has the special occasion feel of a much bigger festival. Part of that has to do with the booking, which follows the same passion-over-profit ethos guiding KDHX's on-air playlists. Though they're doing alright; two of Twangfest's four nights are already sold out.
But you haven't missed the boat -- far from it. Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three and Ha Ha Tonka are loved about as much as they should be (a ton) in this town, but let's not discount John Doe (of X), playing on Saturday, or Wussy (playing Thursday), about which no less an authority than Robert Christgau wrote, "Wussy have been the best band in America since they released the first of their five superb albums in 2005, only nobody knows it except me and my friends."
See Also... Twangfest organizer Marie Arsenault talks about the unique appeal of the event. Hayes Carll and Elizabeth Cook at the Pageant, 6/8/11: Twangfest Night One In which Hayes Carll says, "For $20, you coulda bought a case of PBR and a porno movie. But instead you decided to come out among the living." The Best Beards of Twangfest
Lineup
Wednesday, June 6 at the Schlafly Tap Room SOLD OUT Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three Humming House Prairie Rehab
Thursday, June 7 at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room $15 Kelly Hogan Wussy Deano & the Purvs Pretty Little Empire
Friday, June 8 at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room SOLD OUT Ha Ha Tonka Langhorne Slim Kelsey Anderson and the Honkies
Saturday, June 9 at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room $20 John Doe Kevin Gordon Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers Rough Shop
