ruKus festival returns to Warren amphitheater
Lessons were learned from last year, the first for the festival.
WARREN — The second annual ruKus festival will put a cap on the summer rock festival season when it returns to the Warren Community Amphitheatre on Sunday.
The free festival was begun by Warren-based band The Kellys last year to give independent musicians and artists a place to showcase their work.
New this year is a vastly expanded sideshow area.
Brooke Slanina from The Oakland Center for the Arts in Youngstown will host an open-mic session from 1 to 5 p.m. Poets, acoustic musicians, magicians, comedians, jugglers and other performers can sign up at noon.
An array of artists and food vendors will set up shop, offering art, jewelry, kettle corn, and even massages. Life Skills of Warren will offer activities for children.
Ray Beiersdorfer of Youngstown State University will bring his Sideshow of Science exhibit and Dr. Ray’s ROCK! show, a mineral and precious stone exhibit from the YSU geology department.
Also, the Pickled Brothers, who stage a bizarre carnival-style side show, will perform.
One thing that won’t be available at the festival is beer.
“RuKus is certainly a family-friendly event,” said Moe Angelo of The Kellys. “With that being said ... this year’s festival is still dry. In all honesty, I think it’s one thing that distinguishes ruKus from the rest of the big music events in the area. I would rather have people visit one of the fine local establishments, if they’re so inclined. That way, they get to check out some of the local bars that are within walking distance of the venue, and we don’t have to charge them a ridiculously overpriced amount for a beer.”
Artist and vendor space is still available. Interested people can e-mail Angelo at ruKusthefestival@gmail.com.
On the music side, there will be fewer bands this year — eight, as opposed to last year’s 10. Angelo said the reduction will make it easier to manage the event.
Another change is that The Kellys will not be headlining their own festival — Winslow and The Zou are the closing acts. It’s a change based on lessons learned from last year.
“After such a long day full of so much work, it was a little on the grueling side to still have to play a set,” said Angelo. “So this year, we’re playing at 6 p.m., and are letting some friends and amazing musicians finish out the show.”
The music will begin at 1 p.m. with bands playing hour-long sets that might get longer as the evening progresses. Scheduled mainstage acts are Reznik, Eclyptic, Jones for Revival, Jets to Red, ZR, The Kellys, Winslow and The Zou.
Jason and the Punknecks, an acoustic trio with a sound somewhere between hillbilly-rock and Americana, will play two sets on the second stage.
The entire day’s events will be broadcast live on The Kellys’ Internet radio station, ruKus radio (www.rukusradio.net).
Proceeds will benefit The Hattie Larlham Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Mantua that has been providing educational, residential, and vocational services to nearly 1,400 children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities for more than 45 years.
“This year’s festival will benefit The Hattie Larlham Creative ARTs program, which provides people with severe disabilities the opportunity to create paintings, write and record music, take photographs, and mold pottery through an advanced system of questioning and the corresponding responses,” said Angelo. “This system allows the individual to create these pieces of art exactly the way that they want them, even though the person’s physical ability may be severely limited, through facilitation by an experienced art ‘tracker.’ ... It is such an amazingly unique experience for the people involved,” said Angelo, a former Hattie Larlham vocational specialist. “Their true desires are actually being heard and carried out for the first time in most of their lives, and the product is some truly beautiful artwork and music.”
Admission is free but donations will be accepted on behalf of Hattie Larlham Foundation.