Peacemaker Fest rolls out musical lineup, will complement murals event and Steel Horse Rally

The legendary Leon Russell, country rock Turnpike Troubadours and their famous live act, along with the popular alt-country Old 97’s out of Dallas are part of a solid line-up for the 2016 Peacemaker Music & Arts Festival to hit downtown Fort Smith in late July.

It’s the second year for a festival that began with a Facebook conversation and resulted in a first year event that brought Jason Isbell to Fort Smith just as he was catching fire in the music world. This year’s festival is set for July 29-30, at the Harry E. Kelley Park in downtown Fort Smith.

The Peacemaker board on Wednesday held a media event to discuss the 2016 lineup and their efforts to grow the festival.

Friday night brings Leon Russell, Old 97’s, American Aquarium and Turnpike Troubadours to the stage. Turnpike Troubadours, a band out of Oklahoma City, is known for performing sold out and rowdy shows in large and small popular venues in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

The Saturday night headliner is the Cold War Kids, an indie group from California with a mix of rock, blues and soul mix. The Saturday stage will also see Blackberry Smoke, The Revivalists, and the Ben Miller Band.

Rounding out the event will be a Sunday “praise God and pass the biscuit!” event that includes a brunch and live gospel music. Peacemaker bills the event as a time to feed “the hungry, the homeless and the hungover.” (Link here for the three-page press release on the event.)

THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE FESTIVAL
Trent Goins, CEO of Fort Smith-based OK Foods and Peacemaker board treasurer, stressed that a goal with the festival is to keep ticket prices low compared to similar festivals in order to “bring an economic value to the patrons of Fort Smith,” and boost attendance.

A two-day festival pass is just $29 for those who buy early, and rises to $49 after the “early bird” tickets are sold. A two-day ticket at the gate is $69. Single day passes are $19 (early bird), $29 (buy before the event), and $39 (at the gate). VIP tickets, new to this year’s event, range from $149 to $199, and include special parking, a VIP cash bar, and a bag of “Peacemaker Swag.” Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m., March 18.

Jeff Gosey, Peacemaker board president, said he hopes the community rewards the group’s decision to book more popular bands to help grow the event.

“We stepped up our budget. We need to step up our ticket sales,” Gosey told the media audience and festival partners at Wednesday’s event.

Gosey said the event is also funded through “a great response from corporate sponsors.” He said about 50% of event costs are covered by sponsorships and the rest from ticket sales and food and beverage sales. Goins and Gosey said the event raised around $10,000 last year, which helped provide donations to Girls Inc., The Children’s Emergency Shelter, and Developmental Wings.

“We’d like to double that ($10,000) this year,” Gosey said.

Goins and Gosey also praised the work by Bill Neumeier, a downtown restaurant owner and Peacemaker board vice president, to book the talent.

“He’s really got an ear for this,” Gosey said.

MURALS AND MOTORCYCLES
The inaugural Peacemaker Festival in 2015 was coincidentally joined by the inaugural Steel Horse (motorcyle) Rally and the inaugural Festival of Murals (The Unexpected Project) in downtown Fort Smith.

The inaugural festival was held Sept. 6-13 in downtown Fort Smith with more than seven well-known international street and urban artists painting or creating large and unique murals on several buildings in the area. Part of the festival included partnering with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith in the opening of the university’s new Windgate Art & Design building.

The first year of the event was pitched as “The Unexpected Project” by Steve Clark, owner of Propak Logistics, and a CBID member and active supporter of the murals effort. The project is part of 64.6 Downtown, an organization formed in January to promote downtown Fort Smith.

John McIntosh, a leader of the effort, said the group is actively working to organize the 2016 festival.

“This week our team is meeting with out Curator, Charlotte Dutoit (with) JustKids. We will be making our final mural wall selections for the 2016 event. We will be reviewing international street artist recommendations that Charlotte is proposing. Our goal is to be able to announce our artist line up and mural wall selections in July. We are planning something ‘unexpected’ for the community this year during the event September 2-11,” McIntosh noted in an e-mail to Talk Business & Politics.

The inaugural Steel Horse Rally held in downtown Fort Smith in early May 2015 was attended by an estimated 25,000 people and resulted in a regional economic impact of $4.272 million, according to a report from the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau. The rally was attended by around 10,000 bikers, according to estimates from the Fort Smith Police Department. Riders came from more than 15 states, including the northeastern tip of Maine, Idaho and Ohio. At least one biker was from Canada, and were hosted by more than 200 volunteers organized by Karen and Dennis Snow, secretary and president, respectively, of Steel Horse Rally Inc.

The 2016 rally is set for April 29-30, and will include a special event for the dedication of the General William O. Darby statue in downtown Fort Smith. Darby, a Fort Smith native, is credited with founding the U.S. Army Rangers. The statue is of Darby on a motorcycle.

The rally will also include an all new Vendor Village location near 800 Garrison Ave., the Harley-Davidson national demo truck filled with new 2016 motorcycles for visitors to ride, the Thunder Through the Valley Motorcycle Parade, antique motorcycles on display, and a Friday night concert by rock group Jackyl. The band is known for unforgettable performances like the song “The Lumberjack,” during which vocalist Jesse James Dupree performed a chain-saw solo. Jackyl is also featured on the hit reality TV show, “Full Throttle Saloon.”

The Steel Horse Rally Inc. is a non-profit charity that honors military, veterans, law enforcement and first responders and helps local charities. The five charities to benefit from the 2016 Steel Horse Rally are: Fort Smith Children’s Emergency Shelter-Independent Learning Program, Hannah House, Earthbound Angels, the Gregory Kistler Treatment Center, and the Fort Smith Museum of History.