Everclear singer comes to Riverfest

Riverfest organizers say the event attracts many people from outside the community to Ottawa, and it seems this carries to the talent as well.

Everclear lead singer Art Alexakis will give a guest performance Saturday night with the Chicago-based Maggie Speaks band performing before and serving as a backup band for Alexakis as he performs Everclear songs.

Everclear is a platinum-selling rock band that rose to popularity in the '90s with hits, such as “Santa Monica” and “Everything to Everyone.”

“We’re really looking forward to that night to get a big national name down here,” said Riverfest Music Committee member Mike Story.

The three-day festival will run from Thursday, Aug. 2, through Saturday, Aug. 4.

Bands Maggie Speaks and Final Say will take the stage at 10 p.m. Saturday and will perform a cover set to get the audience on its feet and singing along. Alexakis will take the stage at some point during their performance to sing some Everclear songs with the bands.

Prior to that, one of Champaign’s top cover bands, 90s Daughter, will perform a rendition of Top 40 songs at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, after playing in Ottawa five years ago, and Pearl Jam Tribute will take the stage at 7:45 p.m. with songs across Pearl Jam's over 25-year library of music.

Added cover charge Saturday and shorter schedule

The added talent will come at an added cost for guests. Saturday’s festivities will come with a $5 cover charge compared to the $2 cover charge on Friday and the free admission on Thursday.

Mayor Bob Eschbach added the food and beverage ticket system has changed with $10 getting 10 tickets rather than nine.

“The reason we’re doing that is just to get the quality of music, particularly for Saturday night, and I think with the bonus of additional food and drink tickets it should work out fairly well,” Eschbach said.

The event has also been shortened to three days after experimenting with four days last year and hosting local bands as well as children performances on Sunday.

“It really didn’t bring enough of a crowd to make it worthwhile,” Eschbach said. “I think back in the days when Riverfest started, it was the only event all year-round so five days was no big deal, but now we’ve got so many more activities that it makes sense to condense it a bit.”

The 'premiere' Tom Petty band visits Thursday

The music portion of the celebration kicks off at 6:45 p.m. Thursday with local band Trophies for Tryin’, which consists of many musicians from the Illinois Valley area playing rock music from the '70s, '80s, and '90s as well as more recent hits.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tribute band Southern Accents will follow at 8:30 p.m. and Story said they’ve played sold-out shows at venues, such as the House of Blues in Chicago and New Orleans.

“They’re the premiere Tom Petty band that I’ve seen,” Story said. “We looked all over the internet for Tom Petty tribute bands. They’re the real deal.”

Country music is back on Friday

Story also lamented the lack of country at the last couple festivals and Friday’s schedule is meant to make up for that.

The Nashville-based Joe Bayer Band will kick off the night at 7 p.m. by bringing his country band back to his hometown. The Ottawa-native and his band have won several awards in Nashville and has since performed around the country.

Bayer will lead for the country cover band Suburban Cowboys, which starts at 9:30 p.m. and plays a mix of country and classic rock.

The Silver Bullets STL band will not return this year after being a part of the festivity for the last four years. Story said the committee has worked hard to introduce almost entirely new talent to the music lineup this year in order to meet the community's diverse tastes.

“You can pick up a sense you need to start fresh every once in awhile and we’re excited to be bringing back country on Friday,” Story said. “We’ve had a year or two break without country music and there’s a lot of country fans out here.”

Eschbach commended the committee for their work aligning talent.

“They worked hard to come up with a good product and within budget,” Eschbach said. “I think we’ve gotten a really good lineup this year.”

Other committee members include Kim Stafford, Kevin Stiles, Aaron Batistelli, Linn VanDuzer and Michelle Ochsner.

Festival attracts from afar, more details to come

Ottawa Visitors Center Director Curt Bedei said they are working on the advertising for what he calls “Ottawa’s biggest summer party” and attracts visitors from outside the community.

“Riverfest has several components to it so we want to make sure everybody knows there’s Art in the Park going on, there’s dance competitions, there’s fishing rodeos and of course the music,” Bedei said.

“Now that we certainly have a popular name associated this year there will be a lot more of an attraction,” he added.

Eschbach added it’s not uncommon that a visitor comes to the city for the events such as Riverfest and the Two Rivers Wine Fest and ends up staying.

“Sometimes they’ll stay overnight and sometimes they’ll approach me when they find I’m the mayor and say it’s a wonderful town and every once in a while somebody moves here,” he said.

A full list of activities and a schedule of other events is expected soon.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, Aug. 2 with free admission

• 6:45 to 8:15 p.m.: Trophies For Tryin'. Illinois Valley band performing rock music from the '70s, '80s, '90s and some recent hits.

• 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.: Southern Accents. A Nashville based Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band.

Friday, Aug. 3 with $2 admission

• 7 to 9 p.m.: Joe Bayer Band. The award-winning, Nashville-singer got his start in Ottawa and will bring his country band back home.

• 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.: Suburban Cowboys. The Chicago-based country cover band will play sets mixed with country and classic rock.

Saturday, Aug. 4 with $5 admission

• 6:15 to 7:30 p.m.: 90s Daughter. One of the top Champaign-Urbana cover bands will perform a variety of Top 40 songs. They previously played in Ottawa five years ago.

• 7:45 to 9:45 p.m.: Pearl Jam Tribute. The Chicago-based tribute band changes its setlist after every show and has a deep knowledge of the tracks throughout the band's over 25-year history.

• 10 p.m. to midnight: Maggie Speaks and Final Say guest starring Art Alexakis of Everclear. Maggie Speaks and Final Say will play a high-energy set list while singer Art Alexakis of Everclear is expected to take the stage and sing some of Everclear's songs.