Fayetteville brings big name music, pushes local talent

By: Brian Washburn

Posted: 8/21/08

Even though Fayetteville is accustomed to headliners stopping through town, they are generally either musicians who stop by on a regular basis (Cross Canadian Ragweed, anyone?) or they are mostly country artists, which a bulk of Fayetteville residents do tend to enjoy. But with a major university connected with the town's most popular street for a weekend, a few bigger shows would help the music scene because space constraints can be worked around eventually.

The Foo Fighters trekking through Fayetteville and rocking the UA campus this past February was a step in the right direction, and it has apparently paved a few more paths for other national artists. Other national artists such as Taylor Swift, The All-American Rejects, Spoon, and Keith Urban have also toured through Fayetteville this past year and have seen immensely large crowds. However, the number of headlining acts stopping through Fayetteville seems to be stepping up this fall.

Oscar winners and hip-hop mainstream group Three Six Mafia will be performing at the Fayetteville Town Center Sept. 19. While this show looks to sell out, not all of the UA campus should try to pile in. Steel Train will be performing for the UA's Friday Night Live that same night, and it should prove to be an extremely enjoyable show for all rock fans.

Conor Oberst, the poetic, acoustic/country-esque frontman for the well-known Bright Eyes, will be stopping by George's Majestic Lounge Sept. 23 on his headlining tour. The show will also feature Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley as an opener.

But these shows will not be the first, nor the last, of the big headlining shows in Fayetteville through the end of the year. With several concerts attracting a variety of audiences across campus and the region, the possibilities for a number of acts heading through Fayetteville this fall seems to be on the upside.

But while national acts are finding their way into the Northwest Arkansas area, local talent have been entertaining here for several years. And those musicians, and the seemingly never-ending pool of talent, don't seem to be slowing down.

From the rock musicians who have taken Dickson Street, not to mention the few who have broken onto national scenes (Benjamin Del Shreve to name one), to the old school country and singer-songwriters amongst the Fayetteville elite, they all could really do some damage on the national scene. The vibrant metal scene could come to resemble that of the Orange County metal scene, or even land in a category of its own The Fayetteville rock scene (which sees rock genres from emo to experimental to pop punk to straight up rock) could maybe even find themselves "dropping a line" for their hometown of Fayetteville while on MTV2 or the Fuse music network one day.

However, these local acts are being pushed by not only the fans, but by music venues as well. Regular stomping grounds like George's, the Music Hall and the Dickson Theatre have become a regular hot spot to hear a person's next new, favorite local act.

New venues have also been popping up lately, with a few even catering to more of one genre. The Old Post Office (the OPO) caters to all genres, but it seems to host a few more metal shows than the rest. And while the citizens of Fayetteville were saddened by the shut down of the Gypsy, a new venue has opened in its place and in the same location: Froggys. Froggys will cater to a more rock crowd, with a few genres to branch off of including the blues.

Options are becoming abundant and the music is becoming louder in Fayetteville.