Local bands to perform at do-it-yourself music fest

The Foot Foot Fest this weekend in Fort Collins is a do-it-yourself music festival designed to offer a unique opportunity for local bands.

Entering its second year, the donation-based festival was originally designed as a way to widen Fort Collins’ live music scene.

“Most of the live music in Fort Collins is very bar oriented and mainly jam-band and bluegrass type music,” Amos Helvey, event coordinator, said. “We try to give an opportunity to the bands that don’t fit in that group, otherwise they never really get a chance to play.”

Helvey said he and his roommate Coleman Mummery were inspired to create Foot Foot Fest after seeing a similar do-it-yourself-style show in Billings Montana, called the Richard Dreyfest. They hope to broaden the scope of live music and create a unique musical event that offers bands a chance to play, Helvey said.

“Because the event is all donation we can’t really pay the bands” Helvey said. “We are happy to play and excited about the event – it was a lot of fun last year, and it offers a wide variety of different music not available in Laramie,” Cole Janzen, a member of Stoic, a local band performing at Foot Foot, said.

The event starts off Saturday morning with a potluck and a house show. The first year of the festival most of the shows were held in backyards and houses; however, this year the event is mainly hosted in community spaces and art galleries, Helvey said.

The Downtown artery, one of the main venues, is a community art gallery designed to incorporate artistic endeavors into Fort Collins.

“I view art as a necessity of life, and it was a need that was not being addressed in the community,” Amy Bradley, Downtown Artery co-founder, said. “We have being trying to make music a huge part of the Artery.”

After being open two years, the Downtown Artery is opening a portion of the building designed specifically for the ever-increasing music scene, Bradley said.

The Art Lab, a current and former venue for the festival, is a community event space, Heavily said, adding that he is excited for the festival to return.

“It was a great experience last time and we’re looking forward to it again this year,” Heavily said.