That stands for Birmingham Arts and Music Festival, a project started by a
couple of Birmingham musicians who love SXSW and thought something similar would
go over well in Alabama. Apparently, they were right.
2011 is only the second year of BAAMFest, but in the short span of a three-day
weekend, almost 200 artists of all kinds (music, dance, visual, kids, etc.)
shared their talents in 21 venues across the city. Edward had the privilege of
opening the Fest at Rojo, a Latino/American restaurant and bar on Highland Ave.
Over the course of the weekend, six more artists performed there, winding up on
Sunday with a live streaming performance from Amsterdam by Fat Form.
The folks at Rojo were terrific, very receptive and accommodating. In
particular, Berkley, the bartender and Clark, the owner, were extremely helpful
and supportive. We hope to be back with them for another gig soon.
Because of neighborhood noise ordinances, the bands at Rojo had to finish by
10, so Edward only had an hour to play. He worked it well, though, which
prompted an attendee to shoot a note to the BAAMFest Facebook page, calling his
performance ‘fantastic!’ I couldn’t agree more.
We were only in town for the night, but did manage to catch the tail end of
Lee MacDougall’s set a few blocks away. It was nice to finally hear him live,
even if it was just one song. Not sure what the bookers were thinking with him,
though. The rest of the bill at his venue were thrash metal bands.
Still, even with a few bumps and some occasional late starts we heard about
at other venues, BAAMFest seems to be off to a terrific beginning. The social
media certainly seemed enthusiastic in their online reports. We hope to be a
part of it again.
couple of Birmingham musicians who love SXSW and thought something similar would
go over well in Alabama. Apparently, they were right.
2011 is only the second year of BAAMFest, but in the short span of a three-day
weekend, almost 200 artists of all kinds (music, dance, visual, kids, etc.)
shared their talents in 21 venues across the city. Edward had the privilege of
opening the Fest at Rojo, a Latino/American restaurant and bar on Highland Ave.
Over the course of the weekend, six more artists performed there, winding up on
Sunday with a live streaming performance from Amsterdam by Fat Form.
The folks at Rojo were terrific, very receptive and accommodating. In
particular, Berkley, the bartender and Clark, the owner, were extremely helpful
and supportive. We hope to be back with them for another gig soon.
Because of neighborhood noise ordinances, the bands at Rojo had to finish by
10, so Edward only had an hour to play. He worked it well, though, which
prompted an attendee to shoot a note to the BAAMFest Facebook page, calling his
performance ‘fantastic!’ I couldn’t agree more.
We were only in town for the night, but did manage to catch the tail end of
Lee MacDougall’s set a few blocks away. It was nice to finally hear him live,
even if it was just one song. Not sure what the bookers were thinking with him,
though. The rest of the bill at his venue were thrash metal bands.
Still, even with a few bumps and some occasional late starts we heard about
at other venues, BAAMFest seems to be off to a terrific beginning. The social
media certainly seemed enthusiastic in their online reports. We hope to be a
part of it again.