The Future Of Entertainment

New festival blends music, beer, technology

Fayetteville group Arkansauce will perform at the AMP Fest on Oct. 2. Other acts at the festival will be Goose, Mountain Sprout and Mix Master Mike. The artists will perform across three intimate stages throughout the venue.
Fayetteville group Arkansauce will perform at the AMP Fest on Oct. 2. Other acts at the festival will be Goose, Mountain Sprout and Mix Master Mike. The artists will perform across three intimate stages throughout the venue.

Northwest Arkansas loves its festivals. It seems like there's a different one nearly every weekend. But while most of those festivals are centered around music or beer, few incorporate technology -- until now.

"We're filling a niche that has not been explored in Northwest Arkansas," says Taylor Speegle with the Walmart AMP and Walton Arts Center. "We're going to show how technology is something we want to talk about, want to explore. And we're going to give people an avenue to do that."

FAQ

AMP Fest

WHEN — 2-6 p.m. Oct. 2

WHERE — Walmart AMP in Rogers

COST — $40-$95

INFO — arkansasmusicpavili…

Speegle is the brain behind the inaugural AMP Festival -- a fundraising project conceived by the Walton Arts Center's Corporate Leadership Council.

The festival serves "to target a younger audience, something fundraisers aren't really known for. We did a lot of research on our demographic here [and found] what we have locally that will entice that audience," Speegle says. The money from the festival will support the Walton Arts Center's arts education initiatives that benefit Northwest Arkansas students. "A lot of people will come to the fest, but at the same time, they'll get to see why we're doing it. We want children to have access to arts in Northwest Arkansas in a way that a lot of kids don't have."

The next generation of technology, local craft beer and some favorite local bands seem like the perfect combination to attract more than just millennials, which is likely the reason Speegle is already hearing hype about the festival in the community.

"I'd be going to this thing even if I wasn't playing," says Austin Jewell, lead singer and acoustic guitar player of local band Goose. "It's definitely got my attention. I have no idea what to expect going in to this thing. I'm just excited about all the other stuff going on, and I'm going to check out as much as I can. It's going to be a cool time."

Along with Fayetteville Americana folk/pop act Goose, the music lineup includes other local folk/bluegrass outfits Arkansauce and Mountain Sprout. Speegle says the three bands felt like the perfect fit for the festival with their regional popularity -- not to mention how Americana and folk genres have both been on the comeback recently. To end the one-day festival though, organizers wanted to try something a little different.

"To end the night with an exclamation point, something to get your heart pumping, and Mix Master Mike is that," Speegle says. Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys is a turntablist -- which differs from a disc jockey: a DJ plays records; a turntablist physically manipulates the records and equipment to produce new sounds. "It feels like music that has the technology behind it. He gives you chills, he's so good."

Besides all the technology demonstrations and activations (as they're called) -- a virtual reality simulator, the chance to play FIFA 2017 and Madden 2017, three-dimensional printing and a look at the office of the future, to name a few -- the most interactive piece of tech at the festival will be the app. Microsoft, Pabst Blue Ribbon and a company called Footmarks have teamed up to create a cellphone app that will use Beacon technology to guide guests around the venue and help them win prizes.

"It's another way of getting people to explore every part of the venue," Speegle says. The festival will be spread throughout the AMP -- including on stage and back stage -- giving guests exclusive access to nearly every inch of the venue. "What's back stage? Even if it's not something that's going to blow your socks off, it's still cool. There's an allure for that. That is something people want to experience. [The app] will keep them flowing throughout the venue -- tasting different beers, melding together, using the technology of the event in a scavenger hunt type of thing.

"We're talking about how can we make this event different or memorable," Speegle continues. "You come because you love Goose or Mix Master Mike or craft beer, but you take away all the things you got to see -- all the things our average patron won't get to experience at a normal concert."

NAN What's Up on 09/23/2016

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