BAALS Music Festival. Two stages. More than 30 artists. Thousands of people. And $5,000 going to a local charity.
How could anyone possibly pass that up?
"Fort Wayne is one of the cheapest places to live in the country, and we're bringing a large-scale, premier festival to the city," said executive director Daniel Butler. "We want the Midwest to see what we have to offer, and get on the map as a place someone will want to visit."
The annual BAALS Music Festival is Saturday, August 1 from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. at Headwaters Park. Attendees can dance the day and night away to a full variety of high-energy music or take a seat and enjoy the atmosphere of a community coming together for a day of excitement.
Although the original festival focused on electronic music, this year there's something for everyone. Hip-hop, folk-rock, funk, rock and electronic dance music will take the stage at BAALS Music Festival. Even national DJ acts are headlining the festival, coming from Austin, Atlanta and New York City. They've performed at places like EDC Las Vegas, Lollapalooza, and TommorowWorld, and now, Fort Wayne.
But while an event with such talent and excitement would run attendees at least $100 somewhere else, BAALS Music Festival coordinators have done their best to keep prices low. General admission tickets are just $15 for the day, or $50 for VIP.
"A full day of programming this year means that festival attendees will have so many activities they can participate in, on top of the large variety of music acts coming in," Butler said.
Out-of-towners may wonder where a music festival picked up such a strange name, but locals know the Baals name from their former mayor, Harry Baals. Fort Wayne even made national news in 2012 when it considered naming a new government building, "Harry Baals Government Center." Everyone from major news outlets to late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had something to say about the potential name that helped put Fort Wayne on the map. Festival organizers decided to capitalize on the now infamous name, and they named their annual event BAALS Music Festival.
Although BAALS Music Festival carries over past midnight, Butler hopes everyone will find a time to come and enjoy the music.
"BAALS is an all-ages event, and we wanted to incorporate something for every demographic we could," Butler said.
The morning hours will showcase lower energy music that families can enjoy, and as the day goes on, it will build energy to speak to younger crowds, featuring hip-hop and electronic music acts on both stages. Glow sticks, noisemakers, lightshows and beats that make even the most reserved attendee dance will rock Headwaters Park until 1 in the morning.
Photos from last year's event speak for themselves. BAALS Music Festival will definitely be taking over Fort Wayne with music lovers of all ages hyped up for a fantastic day of music and fun.
BAALS Music Festival
August 1, 2015
8 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Headwaters Park
330 S Clinton Street
Musical Guests:
Adam Murphy, Adejai aka Doc, Aryk, Cam Miller, Carnie, DJ Dontrell, Earphorik, Entel, Erivera Reyes, Fort Wayne Funk Orchestra, Fresh Ben, Gil Grimm & Zues, Intergalactic, Jody Free, Joey Phatone, JTubbs, Kerosec, Medusa, Mikado, Mizicko, Nick Ortega of Prxzm, Niz, Nyzzy/Double K, Oferle, Omega, Oskillate, Razook, Samuel Harness, Sarahnova, Secret Mezzanine, The Indigos
