JacktoberFest Today: Bands, Beers and Brats

Jacktoberfest was conceived in the near-death experience of another Jackson music fest tradition: Jubilee!JAM. “It was in the wake of a JAM meeting, where the Board had voted to put the festival off for a year so that it could come back to Capitol Street,” says Bryan Keller, co-coordinator and “holder of the e-mail address” for Jacktoberfest. John Lawrence, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, lamented Jackson’s lack of an Oktoberfest, and a group of JAM board members decided to do something about that unacceptable state of affairs.

Doing “something” meant filling the musical void that was left when Jubilee!JAM went on hiatus, and combining that with a true-to-form Oktoberfest setting—complete with beers like German import Warsteiner and even locally made Lazy Magnolia—and beer’s best buddy, the bratwurst. Brats are becoming more popular in the South, squeezing in next to the andouille and boudain in the grocery aisles, and if you have never tried a brat cooked in beer, Jacktoberfest would be just the place to do it. You might never eat a plain hot dog again.

The festival takes place Friday, Oct.19, from 11 a.m. to around 10 p.m., on Congress Street between Capitol and Amite. “We’ll be serving lunch and providing an open-air atmosphere to enjoy music, food and conversation. (It’s a) great way to spend a Friday lunch hour,” Keller says.

He relates that it was “like a dare” to put on an event such as this, especially to make Jacktoberfest a one-day event on a weekday. “So many people pointed out that there are too few events on a weekday … we were actually encouraged to have these people put their money where there mouths were. And boy did they! (Last year) we actually ran out of food at 1 p.m. and had to go buy more to get us through dinner. It was a kick to see everyone milling about on Congress Street, listening to music, talking (and) visiting. It was great.”

The Jacktoberfest committee is made up of people with day jobs ranging from artist to chef to physical therapist; Keller says he “works on computers” for a living. Working full time and putting on an event is no small feat for this group. “The only qualification (to be on the committee) is the desire to see positive things happen for Jackson, specifically downtown. I can’t say enough good things about everyone involved. These are folks that put in time and energy after work and on weekends to make this happen,” Keller says enthusiastically. “These are folks that take off a day and lose wages to see this happen. Every cent we make goes back into the Jackson arts and music scene, and helps to ensure that we can continue to have events downtown.”

As with any large project, there are always obstacles to overcome. Keller says that the Jacktoberfest committee is still jumping hurdles as they plan the second annual event, but when asked to pinpoint the most problematic thing that the group has dealt with, he says: “Ignorance is number one. We didn’t know how to do things like close streets, get permits … John Lawrence was great in showing us how to get things like that done. John is the king of the ‘teach a man to fish’ sort of attitude.”

There appears to be something for everyone at Jacktoberfest. Besides the food and beer, local artists will have booths with their art displayed for sale, and of course there is the music lineup. Jacktoberfest thus far only features local and regional bands, but Jacksonians have plenty of local music to be proud of. “People really do like to see these things going on downtown,” Keller says. This year’s headliner is Oxford’s roots-rock band Rocket 88, and rounding out the bill is Goodman County (alt-country), Passenger Jones (acoustic rock), Eric Stracener and the Frustrations (rock), Jackson’s prodigal son Jason Turner (alt-country) and DJ Nick, who will spin tunes throughout the day.

There is no cover for Jacktoberfest, a point that Keller wants to stress. The idea is to get people downtown and supporting the local music-and-arts scene. Save your money for the art, beer and brats.

“One of the best things about this year is bringing in new people that either weren’t involved last year, or weren’t involved more deeply,” Keller says. “I hope that it allows us to increase the circle of Jacksonians that not only get involved in this event, but who also want to do their own. Ideally, I want to be involved in the planning of one of these a year, and have the opportunity to attend far more.”

Check out Jacktoberfest’s website for more information and befriend them on MySpace.

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