VOV success

45 bands play over 4-day event

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown SECRET SHOW: Brooklyn-based band HNRY FLWR performs outside the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts on the closing day of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown SECRET SHOW: Brooklyn-based band HNRY FLWR performs outside the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts on the closing day of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.

The Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival's crystal anniversary turned out to be a great success, one of the event's organizers said Tuesday.

Forty-five bands entertained packed crowds across the four-day event.

"It was excellent; a huge year," said Low Key Arts Artistic Director Bobby Missile. While the official attendance of the event is still being tallied, Missile said it looks like this could have been a record year for the festival.

The festival was a day shorter this year, but each of the four days had a longer schedule. Missile said it was an experiment to see if they can get more acts at the festival in fewer days. The experiment, he said, was a success, as all three venues for the festival -- Low Key Arts, Maxine's and The Big Chill -- saw large crowds.

The Sentinel-Record/Jami Smith CLOSING NIGHT: Sea Moya plays at Low Key Arts Monday night, the last night of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.
The Sentinel-Record/Jami Smith CLOSING NIGHT: Sea Moya plays at Low Key Arts Monday night, the last night of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.

It was also the first year that bands played at The Big Chill. Missile said that while he wasn't able to attend the shows at The Big Chill, he heard from several bands that played there that the event went well. He said the bands told him they also sold a lot of merchandise at the location.

Missile said they intend to return to The Big Chill in the future, and may also expand to a fourth location.

Another reason Missile considers the event a success is the reaction from each of the bands, who loved playing at the event with many comparing it to South by Southwest in Austin.

"Every single band said that this is better than South by Southwest," Missile said.

Of the 45 bands that played, Missile said around 35 of them also played the Austin show. Many of the people in the audiences were also from Austin. Missile said many music lovers in Austin flee the Texas capital when SXSW comes to town due to the large, hectic crowds that build up for that festival. VOV, he said, is a place where people can hear the same acts, but in a more relaxed atmosphere.

The Sentinel-Record/Jami Smith SEA MOYA: Sea Moya plays at Low Key Arts Monday night, the last night of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.
The Sentinel-Record/Jami Smith SEA MOYA: Sea Moya plays at Low Key Arts Monday night, the last night of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival.

Missile said attendees also came from Oklahoma and Tennessee, and he even met several people who traveled from Chicago to be at the event.

All of the bands put on great shows, and he could "recommend every single act," he said, noting highlights included Godcaster and the Massachusetts-based band Carinae. Missile said Carinae ranks among the top five acts he has ever seen.

Godcaster was scheduled to perform a secret show -- shows that are not announced until the day of the event on VOV's social media accounts -- but car trouble caused them to miss that show. When the band finally arrived, they performed at Low Key Arts and it was one of the most fun acts they had. He said he expected them to be great, but they exceeded his expectations.

Missile said they will announce the dates for next year's festival in the near future, then start booking acts over the summer.

Local on 03/20/2019

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