VexFest 5: fun for all
YOUNGSTOWN — It's still too early to tell, but what appeared to be thousands of people flocked to West Federal Street, downtown, to celebrate a day of Youngstown music.
VexFest 5, Sunday's free, all-day music festival, seemed to be a hit among organizers.
Fred Rafidi, event originator and co-founder of Youngstown Local Music, said the event was unbelievable. He didn't think it could go this smooth, especially after last year went off without a hitch, he said.
He said every year when it gets close to this time, they get frustrated, but the end result makes it all worth it.
“It's always been like that,” Rafidi said. “The vibe the day of is always positive, always great.”
And what wasn't great about it. More than 40 bands rocked the streets of downtown over the course of 13 hours. Between the loud rock of Kitchen Knife Conspiracy and Tilt 360 and the happy vibe of 5 Elements and Jones for Revival, there was something for everyone.
Rumors had been circling that this would in fact be the final VexFest — especially with Cyrus, the band that started this event with Rafidi in 2001, headlining. But when asked about it, Rafidi said: “The chances of doing this again next are good.”
He added, though, that he's thought about it. "This was hard," he said."We all have lives and we all have careers. And before last year, VexFest hadn't happened since 2003, he noted. Still, he said, he's always happy when the event finally happens.
He did say, though, he's considering passing on the torch. Jason Tibolla, of Third Arm Promotions and CD 93.3's Homegrown Show, who really stepped it up this year in terms of organization and sponsorship. Rafidi said he couldn't have done it without him, or any of the other organizers.
Tibolla said he and his promotion company did a lot of work for this event, but it couldn't have been done without everyone involved.
“It's an event for the community, put on by the community, who all love local music,” Tibolla said. “It's a great group of guys with a common goal: to make the music community grow.”
Dan Crump, also of YLM and former owner of Barleys, said this year's VexFest was harder to execute, with the closing of the Core and booking more bands, but it ran very smoothly.
“This is awesome,” Crump said. “Great crowd; looks better thank last year.”
Crump sold Barleys to Dan Sweeney, effective July 1, but he said he will continue to be involved in YLM and all of their endeavors.
“I love what I get to do,” Crump said. “I do this as a hobby. It's like throwing a big party.”
Aura's guitarist, Paco, said last year, Aura played an acoustic set inside The Core. This year, the full band plugged in and rocked the roof off Barleys.
“It's two different worlds,” Paco said. “It was two different VexFests and two different styles.”
He said he thinks VexFest in general is a great way to showcase the local talent: “It's good for Youngstown and it's good for the bands. Everyone out here is having a great time.”
Consensus? Fun. Will it happen next year? We'll see. But tonight, VexFest is here, rocking downtown till 2. What a night.
Comments
I am really impressed with how the whole day turned out. It's hard to imagine a show of that scale going off without any real problems or incidents but everyone worked hard and it seemed to be a huge success. The most important thing about VexFest is local ORIGINAL music and I thought that this area's talent was represented on every level. The fact that you could watch a metal band, a jam band, and a hip hop group all within an hour's time is what makes that day as unique as it is. I have played in all 5 VexFests and I can honestly say that this one was my favorite. I'm sure there will be the usual handfull of people who will complain or criticize this event just like they do every year. But hopefully they will be few and far between. The bottom line is whether you were there all day long or you just came to see your favorite band play, no one can deny that this area is still full of extrordinary talent and I was lucky to be among such great musicians yesterday. Thanks to YLM, Third Arm Promotions, and Barley's for putting on the best party of the year!
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