Expanded Tall Tales Music Festival returns Saturday and Sunday
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Tall Tales Music Festival organizers have seen a growing interest in the downtown Burlington event and this year’s sixth annual festival will be the biggest ever with more walking space and new family-friendly features.
Since its inception in 2013, the annual event went from a quarter block on Chestnut Street to a larger footprint entering the 2018 event, which will be Friday and Saturday.
The expansion will mainly occur on Saturday when thousands of people will be able to roam on Pine Street between Milwaukee Avenue and Washington Street along with Chestnut Street between Milwaukee Avenue and Dodge Street.
With more walking space, The Coffee House at Chestnut and Pine Manager Carly Hurley, an event organizer, said the festival will shine a brighter light on downtown Burlington.
“We are excited that it is a festival downtown, because that is something unique to Burlington, there is a lot of activity downtown,” she said. “There has been so many new businesses coming in and we are really wanting to shine a light on how it is growing.”
Organizer Patrick Sullivan concurred, stating more businesses plan to open their doors during the festival, which brings in out-of-town visitors.
“It is clearly something that can draw people from outside the Burlington area into our community,” Sullivan said. “It is a chance to spotlight and show off what we have to offer.”
The Tall Tales Music Festival, according to Sullivan, will offer a festival unlike others.
Compared to other festivals, where the lineup is heavy with male performers, the Tall Tales Music Festival has more women taking the stage.
“It is definitely unique to music festivals in that the lineup is predominantly women, which is kind of a national debate right now,” Sullivan said. “There is a problem in the music industry and in the festival world that women are really underrepresented.”
Set to take the stage are Erin Rae and Friends, Nicole Atkins, Lilly Hiatt, Tristen, Kashena Sampson, Field Report, Coco Reilly, The Savage Radley.
Another unique feature, Sullivan said, is the collaboration between musicians.
“What we like about this is that there is more collaboration because there is already these connections between the bands. You will see Erin jump on stage with Lilly Hiatt,” he said.
“It creates this atmosphere where I think people feel like they are experiencing a one-of-a-kind special event.”
All events are free and open to the public.
The Tall Tales Music Festival opens at 5 p.m. on Friday and runs until 11 p.m.
The following day, when the number of streets close to traffic will expand, the festival will begin at 10 a.m. and continue through 11 p.m.
The festival will again feature a Kids’s Zone with hands-on activities and a second stage featuring family-friendly entertainment.
See the Aug. 9 edition of the Burlington Standard Press for the full story, including a list of music-related workshops and other events.
If you go…
What: Tall Tales Music Festival
When: Friday and Saturday, Aug. 10 and 11
Where: Chestnut and Pine streets in downtown Burlington
Admission: free
Lowdown: This year’s festival features a lineup of mainly female performers, including Lilly Hiatt and Erin Rae.
Schedule – Friday:
- Dead Horses, 8:15 to 9:15 p.m.
- Field Report, 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Saturday:
- The Savage Radley, 2:25 to 3:15 p.m.
- Coco Riley, 3:30 to 4:20 p.m.
- Kashena Sampson, 4:35 to 5:25 p.m.
- Ruby Boots, 5:40 to 6:30 p.m.
- Tristen, 6:45 to 7:35 p.m.
- Nicole Atkins, 7:50 to 8:40 p.m.
- Erin Rae, 8:55 to 9:45 p.m.
- Lilly Hiatt, 10 to 11 p.m.
Family Stage, Presented by Thrivent Financial
Saturday
- Haley Klinkhammer, 10 a.m.
- Genevieve Heyward, 11:30 a.m.
- Danen Kane, 1 p.m.
- Zach Steinbach, 2:30 p.m.
• Wendysue Fluegge, 4 p.m.
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