Downtown will be ROCKED!

YOUNGSTOWN — The sixth installment of Vexfest, the annual rock music festival, is Sunday on West Federal Street, downtown.

Last year’s festival attracted about 8,000 people over the course of the day — down from 2007’s 8,500 attendees. But Dan Crump, one of the organizers of Vexfest, isn’t sure if the count was accurate. The festival is free, but the security team does count and tag people as they enter. Crump said there was a perimeter breach last year, and many concertgoers got in without being counted.

“We’re expecting at least 8,000 again this year,” said Crump.

Vexfest attracted a record number of band submissions this year — testament to the credibility it has earned in regional music circles. Crump said 189 bands sought a spot through sonicbids.com, the Web site that matches bands with promoters. Last year, Vexfest received 120 submissions for its 42 slots.

Here’s a look at what to expect at Vexfest this Sunday:

WHAT’S NEW

A fourth stage: In addition to the two main outdoor stages and the indoor stage inside Barley’s, there were will be a fourth stage inside Downtown 36, which opened in November. The dance club — known as The Core in its previous incarnation — was vacant last summer.

It’s a small stage, and Crump said the organizers kept that in mind when selecting the lineup, because acts with a lot of members won’t fit. D36 will be the mellower stage at Vexfest, hosting acts such as JD Eicher and the Goodnights and Groove Conductor, as well as some acoustic performers.

Laser show: Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., the bands playing on the two main stages will have the benefit of a laser light show, which will be shown on a screen above or behind the stage. A company (whose name can’t be printed here) was contracted for the laser show, which is a Vexfest first. “We’ve seen them put it on indoors, and we think it will work outdoors,” said Crump.

WHAT’S THE SAME

Free admission: Every year, the Vexfest organizers discuss whether to add an entrance fee, and every year they shoot down the idea. “We’ll probably never change that,” said Crump. “One of the reasons we started this festival is to give back to the community. The bands donate their time. Everyone can come down for free and enjoy it.”

Vendors: A variety of food and beverage booths will offer festival fare; vendors will sell T-shirts and other wares.

Local flavor: Although submissions came from 23 states, Vexfest will still be overwhelmingly local. Most of the bands are from Youngstown and the ones that aren’t — Winslow (Kent), Drenalin (Akron) and APG (Cleveland), for example — are regulars in local clubs.

GROWING PAINS

Bands pull out: Crump and Co. had to scramble in the past week because two bands dropped out.

First, the Kellys, feeling slighted by their time slot, said goodbye. The Vexfest veterans were expecting to again get one of the prime evening slots but instead were scheduled for 3:45 p.m. The Vexfest crowd is usually light through the afternoon hours; the street generally doesn’t get crowded until evening. Crump said penciling The Kellys in at 3:45 p.m. was an attempt to boost afternoon attendance.

He also said the flow of music styles must be considered when scheduling. “We do what’s best for the festival,” he said. “The time slots aren’t meant to say who’s better. We mix it up. For example, you can’t have it heavy for too long ... you can’t have a mosh pit for three hours.”

The Kellys, however, weren’t interested in being the attendance guinea pig, and weren’t buying any other explanations.

“We felt disrespected by our time slot in comparison with our tenure, accomplishments and overall devotion to this area,” said Moe Angelo, bassist for The Kellys. The band thoroughly enjoyed playing at the festival in the past and was looking forward to this year, he added.

Another temporary setback came a few days ago when Thunder Rider broke up.

Out With the Octopus and Melva were added to the lineup to fill the openings, but the schedule was reconfigured. Octopus will play at noon on the East outdoor stage; Melva will play at 6:20 p.m. on the Barley’s stage. Love Turns Hate will take Thunder Rider’s headline spot at Barley’s. IO will play at 3:45 p.m. at the West outdoor stage.