Culture
Diet Cig, Guerilla Toss, and Mourning [A] BLKstar to Headline Falloutfest 2018
By: Rachael Beardsley
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Music acts from around the region will meet at The Union Bar this weekend for the seventh year of Falloutfest, an event that showcases underground bands and solo artists.
Falloutfest has something for almost any taste, as the three-night showcase involves bands with extremely varied styles and sounds. Musical genres range from soul to dancecore to rock. And although most of the acts are native to Ohio, Falloutfest will also feature groups from New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Georgia and Tokyo, Japan.
“The show is stylistically all over the place,” said Scott Winland from The Union and Blackout Booking. “I think the common thread is that everyone performing at this show is very good at what they do, and none of them are doing the same thing. The lineup this year is super eclectic, with acts coming from all over.”
The first night will kick off with Diet Cig, a pop-punk duo from New York. Columbus indie rockers Hidden Places, LA punk band Illuminati Hotties, gospel-inspired punk group Counterfeit Madison from Columbus and Athens locals Wastemen will round out the rest of the night.
New York art rock act Guerilla Toss will be headlining Friday’s lineup, followed by Cincinnati’s cello-boasting avant-garage duo Lung, Columbus’ DANA, and Athens’ Slackluster. The Molice, a dancecore group from Tokyo, will also take the stage on Friday night.
“It’s a really great lineup,” said Madeline Jackson, vocalist for DANA. She went on to say that there is more diversity in the lineup than she has seen during her previous experiences in Athens. A large number of the acts are made up of women and people of color.
“It shows sort of a changing of the tide, giving those kinds of bands their due,” Jackson said.
Falloutfest starts on the heels of another event at The Union, Blackoutfest, which takes place in July. Though The Union has been hosting Blackoutfest for 20 years now, Falloutfest is an opportunity to attract students at the beginning of fall semester.
“It’s a really great lineup,” said Madeline Jackson, vocalist for DANA. She went on to say that there is more diversity in the lineup than she has seen during her previous experiences in Athens. A large number of the acts are made up of women and people of color. “It shows sort of a changing of the tide, giving those kinds of bands their due.”
“I like the idea of a bigger three-night show in the fall,” Winland said. “I think it is always a great way to start another school year.”
Winland went on to say that, although the two events are similar, they both showcase new artists and a constantly changing sound.
“They both change from year to year, but pretty similar, really,” he said. “Falloutfest lineups tend to be a little more varied genre-wise.”
Falloutfest will run from Thursday Sept. 20 to Saturday Sept. 22. Doors open at 8 p.m. each night. Tickets for Thursday night are $20, Friday night tickets are $15 and Saturday night tickets are $10. A weekend pass is $40. Weekend passes are available at this link. Find links to individual day passes here: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.