Loufest
LouFest, held this year in Forest Park’s Central Field on September 6 and 7, has always salted a handful of local groups into the support slots. For 2014, that includes Pretty Little Empire, who’ll share a ticket with Arctic Monkeys, Cake, Outkast, and Trombone Shorty. We caught Pretty Little Empire frontman and co-founder Justin Johnsonfor a quick chat on the topic. For more festival coverage, visit stlmag.com. —thomas crone
What’s the trick to a St. Louis band getting chosen? I honestly don’t know! … It’s hard to say exactly what they’re looking for from St. Louis bands. But it seems that the waythe festival has gone, they’re looking for some-one who has been around for a little bit and can draw some people to the show… We’ve been playing live for almost six years, and we’ve really wanted to get on the bill for the last three.
Have you been to LouFest? It’s a festival I’ve attended every year. I was excited to be a part of it, having watched it grow. It’s gotten better with each year. The frame of reference I have is of living in Austin, Texas, for seven years and going to the Austin City Limits festival there. I saw it grow and am seeing LouFest growing the right way, too. It’s gotten big enough for the organizers to handle it. There’s always enough food, always enough bathrooms.
What band are you most looking forward to seeing? Future Islands. I started listening to their stuff and watching their performances on YouTube. Dynamic. They put on a spectacular performance. They’re one of those groups where the music translates better live. I’m looking forward to them as much as any other band. They give a fearless performance and just let go.
Who would you personally enjoy seeing at a future LouFest? One of my favorite bands is Modest Mouse. They haven’t put out a record in six, seven years. But there was a minute when they started to tour, and I thought they’d be perfect. It’s a band I’ve listened tofor 12, 15 years, and they put on a great show. It seems they’d fit the aesthetic, which seems to be soul and R&B bands mixed in with rock bands. And if they were doing bignames, Tom Waits. I’ve seen him once, but he’s getting up there, and I’d love to see him headline. Those would be the two on my dream list to see live at LouFest.
