The 亚洲天堂 Lake Music Society will bring a rock-focused twist to this year鈥檚 Light Up the Lake festival with a concert called 鈥淩ock the Dock."
The Light Up the Lake festival, set for Saturday, Aug. 23 at Spirit Square Park on the lake, will feature a boat parade including for the first time kayaks and paddle boards, food and drink vendors, local artisans, and activity booths, all set to a backdrop of rock n' roll.
Barry Elliott, a 亚洲天堂 Lake Music Society board member, said the idea came after the Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake approached the group about adding live music to the event.
鈥淎aron from the Village鈥� had kind of brainstormed a bunch of names, and we really liked the Rock the Dock name, so we kind of went with that,鈥� he said.
The society has hosted open mic coffee houses and other shows in the past, but Elliott said the variety of talent in 亚洲天堂 Lake means that the genre of rock doesn't get to shine on its own.
鈥淲e have a lot of really great talent at 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥� but quite often that doesn鈥檛 include rock music. So to have an opportunity to鈥� have a full-on rock style show, along with an event, that鈥檚 really cool.鈥�
Society Board Member Kevin Derksen said the focus will help set it apart from other community performances.
鈥淲e kind of wanted to make it a bit of a theme and go with just a rock show,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the right time of year to cut loose with a rock show.鈥�
Three bands will perform鈥擝amalong, Vagabond and Dead Horse Hill. Elliot and Derksen just so happen to be members of Bamalong in addition to their roles as society board members. Derksen is the vocalist and a guitarist for the band, while Elliot plays the drums.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e played with Dead Horse Hill,鈥� Elliott said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be fun for us as performers as well as the organization.鈥�
Bamalong鈥檚 set will lean toward their heavier material.
鈥淲e鈥檒l still probably do a mixture, but I think we鈥檒l be leaning heavier to the rock songs,鈥� Derksen said. The group often plays blues rock, drawing influence from Canadian acts such as Big Sugar, Colin James and the Glorious Sons.
Elliott said the concert is another example of the society working with community partners.
鈥淸Light Up the Lake] was already a really fun event. I think this is going to add to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淗opefully it鈥檒l be a nice weekend, good weather, and鈥� people come out.鈥�
