It’s almost time to rock ‘n’ roll again in downtown Perryville!
Roctoberfest, hosted by EXP Productions at Hopi Lane, is returning to the square for a full evening of live music performed on three stages by 11 regional acts, classic cars, food, drinks, crafts and lots of family-friendly fun in downtown Perryville from 5:30-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, with three stages of live music.
Stan Denninger, the owner of EXP Productions and The Guitar Shop in Perryville, is the man who came up with the idea of Rocktoberfest.
Asked why it got started, Denninger said, “Because the city asked me to. When we bought these buildings, not many businesses were still here. It was like a ghost town. They came up from KFVS12 and asked me and Chris if we had lost our minds coming in here, buying these buildings, and trying to get stuff going, and the downtown revitalization committee was strong. And they said, “Well, hey, when we don't do something with all this, it's just going to dry up. Hoeckles Bakery had left. It was an empty lot that we then turned into a preschool. The first thing they said is, ‘What can we do to get people down here to get something going back in. I talked to [City Administrator Brent Buerck] and we talked in front of everybody else.
“I said, Brent, go to Alton, Ill. The downtown was just a ghost town. Once a month, they started doing block parties, and it brought the whole thing back. He said, ‘Well, we could try it. I think Rocktoberfest was the first thing that we tried. My thing was, if we were going to do it, it needed to support downtown businesses. So, it started right there by them saying, what could we do?”
Once again, this year, students from The Guitar Shop will open the show as The Hopi Lane players take the EXP Productions Main Stage from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to come out and support these young musicians as they showcase the many hours of hard work they’ve put in over the past year.
Following the Hopi Ln Players, the Deuce Denninger Band plays at 7:30 p.m., The OG’s at 8:30 p.m., and Negative Whiplash from 9:30 to 11 p.m.
Performing on The Warehouse Real Rock Stage will be Stone Koncepts at 7 p.m., Nobody's Darlings at 8 p.m., Static Hour at 9 p.m. and Emaciation at 10 p.m.
Bands performing on the Brass & Bone Acoustic Stage will be Umbra at 7 p.m., Logan Barnhill at 8 p.m., Jo Rambles at 9 p.m., and Melissa Pupillo at 10 p.m.
People can enjoy refreshments from the beer wagon and food truck and browse among the local artisans and vendors. Admission is free of charge, and all ages are welcome to attend.
Also, Heroes for Kids will be collecting donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
For more information, visit the event page on Facebook or call The Guitar Shop at 573-517-4288.
The mission of EXP Productions at Hopi Ln. is to provide independent musicians with services including, but not limited to, recording, mixing, production, marketing, and promotion. Using its combined years of experience and expertise in the music business, EXP Productions seeks to help other musicians realize their goals in a professional setting.
