Kenny Driggs of West Coast Show Support recently highlighted all of the musical entertainment, updates and improvements that will be gracing the Helper Arts, Music and Film Festival this year.
The live entertainment will begin on Thursday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. on Main Street with Ricardo Romero’s Latin Jazz Trio. Driggs stated that they are top shelf musicians that are really fun to watch. They will be playing for two hours as part of the gallery stroll that will be hosted that evening.
Driggs also wanted wanted to kick off the festival with a small show at the Rio Theater. This will take place at 8 p.m. and feature Rose Tan, which is an indie act out of Portland. According to Driggs, they are a really fun and interesting group with an alternative sound. Two locals will also entertain; Bridges and Devon Knight. The duo will be performing an acoustic-folk set.
Driggs stated that there are at least 13 acts that have never played at the festival that will be there this year. He shared that people were pretty ambitious to play and that the music scene is very aware of how much live music is happening in Carbon County, attracting a lot of independent musicians looking for opportunities to play. It was not very difficult for Driggs to bring in music, as Helper and Carbon County is developing as an arts and music scene and people know about it.
With Driggs’ experience in California with West Show Support, producing events such as the MTV Music Awards and the Oscars, there is a high standard. Most of the equipment that was brought to Helper is top notch and the focus is to present the music as if the audience were in Las Vegas or watching on Broadway.
Improvements have already been made to the sound system inside the Rio and Driggs said that they will be establishing temporary stages around town that also have production design, enhanced lighting and audio in mind.
This year, Driggs stated that they are attempting to showcase the music in the way that the artists showcase their art. He mentioned Helper’s amazing galleries and is trying to book music and put it on stages that are visually stimulating and have bigger audio, which will give the feel and sound of a concert that someone would have paid for.
On Friday and Saturday, during the day, they will be welcoming the Rock Opera to the Rio. This is a full production of seven musicians and would likely cost up to $100 in a bigger city. This is free during the festival and will give patrons an opportunity to get into an air conditioned room for a bit. Driggs is aiming to add to the fantastic feel of the festival and elevate the platform that is given to musicians.
He would like for those that are planning to attend this year’s Helper Arts, Music and Film Festival to take note that there will be three stages: the main park stage, the “Depot Street” stage, which will be built at the corner on Main and Depot outside of the Rio, and the Rio Theater, which will be used for a number of performances throughout the festival.
“There’s multiple places to see and experience music,” said Driggs. He concluded by sharing that they plan to bring open mic time back to a couple of these stages.