KC music festival kicks off soon playing shows in several neighborhoods
A Kansas City nonprofit record label is putting together its eighth annual music festival that debuts this week, with a concert in a different KC neighborhood each night.
This year’s Manor Fest will span eight nights and show 60 local bands across 20 different venues, including J. Rieger & Co., the Crossroads neighborhood and even the rooftop of the downtown Kansas City Public Library. Weekend one is May 20 to 23, and weekend two is May 27 through 30.
“I think you have a chance to go find your new favorite band that you can also continue to support throughout the year, that’s my goal for people,” said Shaun Crowley, founder and executive director of Manor Fest, put on by Manor Records, a nonprofit record label.
Manor Fest originated in the basement of a house in Shawnee run by Crowley with some friends. The first two festivals spanned two days and showed 20 bands in total. Their claim to fame was when Glass Animal played in that basement in 2015.
This year marks the fifth year Manor Fest has been put on in downtown Kansas City, according to Crowley, and they are expanding their partnership with venues like Current Landing at CPKC Stadium and the KC Streetcar. Every night will feature a variety of artists, mixing genres to introduce both artists and concertgoers to new musicians.
“Definitely folk, hip-hop, hardcore, and jazz are Kansas City’s most prominent genres right now, in our like underbelly local music scene,” Crowley said. “They all have their little place and crews, and I try to mix them all up and bring them together.”
Manor Fest typically focuses on new and upcoming artists, but there will be a little more of a mix this year when Crowley’s jazz hero Bobby Watson, a jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader, takes the stage at the Zhou B. Art Center on May 29.
“It’s kind of interesting to do older artists, to connect people to the history with some of that (music),” Crowley said.
Other headliners throughout the festival include The Greeting Committee Nightosphere, Jass, Fritz & Sons, Calvin Arsenia, Paris Williams and Sass-A-Brass, according to the Manor Fest website. Neighborhoods on the schedule include the Westside, Strawberry Hill, West Bottoms, Crossroads, Stadium Drive, Northeast KC, and East KC/18th & Vine.
The festival is put on by 25 volunteers, including Crowley. It’s a project he’s come to realize takes a whole year to organize. All funds go toward the nonprofit’s $20,000 yearly goal to raise to support the 10 artists signed to the label.
“If you are new to the city, you know haven’t gone out or tried out a few things, go out to these venues because they’re the ones supporting the local music scene throughout the rest of the year too,” he said. “If you want to go to the map and go through everything with us, it’s quite the journey.”
One of the showings that has taken the most amount of planning is the last day, May 30. That is the free showing where Manor Fest partnered with the KC Streetcar to do a three-stop concert along the streetcar line.
The first concert will be at the Kemper Museum featuring three artists. Then Sass-A-Brass will play concertgoers to the streetcar, which will take them to the Kansas City Public Library’s rooftop to view three more artists. After that comes the final stop at Current Landing featuring the final three bands.
“They’ll be hanging out and dancing with the marching band, and then my stage manager has to blow a whistle, and then we all march down through Current Way, which is the new walkway to the stadium,” Crowley said, adding he has been dreaming about the moment of people arriving at the KC Current stadium since October.
“If I see people marching down the street, dancing, that’s going to make me really stoked,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve been down to that stadium area, it’s beautiful.”
Crowley recommends enthusiastic listeners to grab a wristband for either one or both weekends, since they are guaranteed a spot if a venue that reaches capacity. A wristband for both weekends is $50, one weekend is $30 and tickets at the door are $15 for the day, according to the Manor Fest website.
The streetcar day is free, but those wanting to go should RSVP for free using this link.
