Boone County: the music capital of the world. Well, not exactly, but it might be after this weekend’s first annual Missouri Muzic Fest comes to town. It might not be a familiar event in the Columbia area, but with an impressive first-year lineup, it definitely has the potential to become a music-scene staple.
The three-day music festival will include performances from chart-topping artists as well as groups that are looking to make an impressionable debut.
On top of all the music, the festival will include mixed martial arts and carnival rides.
Combining a music festival with MMA might sound like a strange premise.
“We wanted to provide entertainment on both the music side and MMA fighting side,” security head Anthony Gray says. “The idea was to give the person who is coming a little more than just music.”
Event Coordinator Angela Haynes says the most exciting artists to have as a part of the festival’s inaugural lineup are the Cataracs, an electro-pop group from Berkeley, Calif., and Andy Grammer, a singer-songwriter best known for his hit single, “Keep Your Head Up.”
Other well-known artists scheduled to appear are SkyBlu of dance-pop duo LMFAO and hip-hop star Jeremih, whom Haynes says were the hardest acts to book for the event.
Despite the renowned festival headliners, Haynes says there will also be a variety of artists that might not be as well known — for now, anyway.
“We have a great selection of artists from the United States and abroad, presenting different types of music from electronic to hip-hop,” Haynes says.
The event will showcase groups based out of places as far as Bosnia and as local as Kansas City. One familiar name to Missourians, Tech N9ne, will be Saturday’s closing performer.
“He does 200 shows a year, but he’s never been really highlighted in a music festival of this nature in Missouri,” Haynes says.
Mid-Missouri might seem like an odd place to have such an extravagant event, but Haynes insists it is a promising venue.
“Missouri is a breeding ground for artists and music if you look nationwide, and Columbia’s growing population warrants an event of entertainment,” she says.
Event Publicist Jane Higgins says she has the same hopes for the festival.
“We plan on having it every year, I would like to see it build,” Higgins says. “Along with having a great lineup this year, it’s also about building a solid foundation to build on for future years.”
In order to assure the foundation of a successful music festival, Higgins says the most important consideration is event security.
Gray says he guarantees that although it is the event’s first year, there are no rookies on his security staff. They are all backed with years of experience to ensure that event-goers can have fun and be safe at the same time.
“Whether there are 100 or 100,000 people, we just want to make sure we have a good safe place for people to enjoy themselves,” Gray says.
The Missouri Muzic Fest will be held at the Boone County Fairgrounds with performances and activities lasting from 11 a.m. to midnight every day of the weekend.
