The 9th annual Blackout Fest at The Union, 18 W. Union St., begins tonight at 7, with The Campus Stranglers, to rock out Athens for the next three days. It ends Saturday night with The Real Kids, a Boston garage band that has been together since the 1970s.
Nine years ago, Scott Winland held a party at The Union for local musicians with birthdays in April, including his own. While the name behind the festival hints at the typical birthday night at the bar routine, Winland encourages everyone to not drink more than they can handle.
It's more about the music; the last thing we want is for anyone to get the wrong impression about the name
Winland said.
Tonight will begin with an art opening by Tracy Duncan of the band The High Strung in the downstairs bar of The Union. Duncan also will be performing a short set during the art show.
Blackout Fest features underground bands from all over the country. This year, a band from Israel called Mother's Anger will perform. The bands performing exhibit a range of styles, with influences in soul, new wave, punk and heavy metal. Winland said the one similarity all the bands have is they encompass underground rock 'n' roll.
Not to get too much into semantics but when I say 'underground ' I'm talking about non-major label stuff you generally wouldn't hear on commercial radio
Winland said.
Winland, who started Blackout Booking Agency as a branch from the festival, uses his connections to invite his favorite bands to play each year. Several of the bands on the bill have played in previous years, such as The Lost Sounds from 2003, The Demolition Doll Rods from 2002, Tough and Lovely, Grafton - which played the last three fests - and Geraldine, which has played all nine fests.
It won't be our third blackout
but it's our third Blackout Fest
said Lou Poster, lead singer and guitarist of Grafton. It's a great little festival; I used to go to it even before I started playing in bands.
Several of the bands, such as Grafton and This Moment in Black History, will be prepping for tours while promoting new albums.
It's always fun to party in Athens
and they always treat the bands real cool
said Lamont Bim Thomas, drummer for This Moment in Black History.
This year for the festival, Winland got what he calls his best birthday present: the legendary Boston-based garage band, The Real Kids.
They're one of my all-time favorite bands
Winland said. I've wanted to get them here for quite some time
but figured it was impossible.
Each night of the Blackout Fest begins at 7 p.m. at The Union. Advance tickets are on sale at The Union. Tickets are $8 a night or $20 for all three nights.
