By Emily Christensen

Over the course of a single summer Saturday, Wichita Forever Fest changed the way I see the local music scene.

I co-founded this publication on the belief that artists in my community are producing great work, and they deserve media coverage. But I’ll admit to a certain skepticism about grandiose claims like “Wichita could be the next Austin.” 

OK, settle down, I have thought to myself. 

After a 12-hour tour through the inaugural all-locals music festival last Saturday, I no longer believe that statement is completely delusional.

More than 100 acts performed from noon until after 1 a.m. across 10 different Wichita venues. I started my route early, made it to seven spots, and caught at least part of 14 30-minute sets, focusing on new-to-me music. (That meant skipping favorites like Brave Boy, David Lord, Craig Owens and Bodo Ensemble, Josue Estrada Band, and the DJs who rocked the Tribal Roots beat bus). 

My focus never wandered, because every act was good — and I mean actually good, not “good for a local band.” Many were outstanding, including Kapten, Bri McBride, Yasmin Nur, Sunblush, and Yae. Every venue I visited was well-attended, except for the Arcade's scorching outdoor patio when I dropped by during the afternoon. (Even so, I caught one of the day's loveliest moments then, as Indigo Sol matched their tempo to the whistle of a very long passing train.)

Organizers programmed each venue’s lineup according to loose categories: R&B and hip hop at the Arcade, country and blues at Central Standard Brewing, pop rock and alternative at Nortons, and so on. That allowed audience members to stick with their preferred genres or dip in and out of different scenes.

A well-organized online schedule made it easy to preview each act and figure out what was going on and when. I’d fretted about the travel component, but it was possible to scoot from one place to another during 15-minute breaks between each set without missing (much of) a beat. Despite the fact that I parked downtown six times, the farthest I ever had to walk was less than a block.

Many venues had food vendors, and each hosted local artists and other booths. I wanted to see as much music as possible, so I largely skipped participating in those elements of the festival. (Though I did buy a pair of fabulous earrings from KSW Beadwork.)

With the exception of Kirby’s Beer Store, all venues were open to all ages. The audience bore that out: I saw a few toddlers and other kiddos during the afternoon and early evening. GenXers and Boomers made a decent showing, too. I spent a few sets at Kirby’s next to a couple in the vicinity of my (middle) age who had toured a number of venues, including DIY hotspot the Furnace. 

In the weeks leading up to the festival, organizers faced social media criticism for booking acts that are also slated to perform at Somewhere Fest in September. The drama stayed online, as far as I could tell, and the only hiccups were relatively minor sound issues and the occasional elbow thrown by a particularly enthusiastic dancer. I bumped into someone I knew everywhere I went and chatted with lots of strangers, too. Everyone was ebullient, or close to it.

But no one was in a better mood than the folks on stage, who were all paid to perform. (Not so the legion of organizers and volunteers, for whom the fest was a labor of love.)

I began my Wichita Forever Fest experience less than enthusiastic about undergoing the endurance test that is a minimally air-conditioned, multi-venue music festival on a hot and humid summer day. I wouldn't say I expected to be unimpressed or that I expected the event to be disorganized, but neither outcome would have surprised me.

Instead, I feel lucky to have been a part of such a spectacular first-time event. And judging from the outpouring of love online, I'm not alone.

By Kapten’s 9:15 p.m. set at Kirby’s, an audience call-and-response captured my feelings perfectly:

“Oh my god! Yes, yes, yes!”

“I said goddamn.”

Emily Christensen is one of the co-founders of The SHOUT. She is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and a recipient of an Arts Writing Grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation. Send her a message: emily@shoutwichita.com. 

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