Discovery Park of America and UTM’s Department of Music will be working together in a first-time collaboration for the upcoming summer music festival called “Rhythm on the Rails.”
The festival will feature local musicians and bands, including some from UTM’s Department of Music. Other festival features include catch-and-release fishing from the lake, a cash bar and food trucks.
The festival will take place on Thursday evenings from May 2 – June 27. Gates will open for the event at 5 p.m., with the first set beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The festival will be held around the park’s train depot and south lake and will feature two or three entertainers each night. There will be a limited number of picnic tables provided for the event, and guests are welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs.
Admission will be free for Discovery Park members and those who purchase tickets to the park for the days the festival is to be held. Admission will be $5 for non-members of the park.
All revenue generated from the festival is to be used to help fund the refurbishing of the park’s 1916 Ford Model-T set to be put on display in the fall of 2019. The festival is sponsored by Blue Bank Resort, Williams Country Sausage and The Citizens Bank.
Regional bands performing in the festival include Mandy Vixen and Gas Station Chicken, Rita and the Romeos and The Jamie Jones Band.
Other entertainers include Jason Kizer, Katie Thorpe Tohn and closing out the series, Phillip Coleman. Bands from UTM include the UTM Jazz Combo, the UTM Brazilian Choro Ensemble Steelworks, and Coffey and Carithers.
“We’re excited about the opportunity for two great local institutions, DPA and UTM, to come together to provide an opportunity for our region to celebrate some of their favorite local performers, while also having the opportunity to discover new music they haven’t heard before,” Dr. Julie Hill, chair of the department of Music at UTM, said.
A complete lineup for the festival can be found on the Discovery Park website, https://discoveryparkofamerica.com/.
