IndieCraft is back with deep lineup and an additional venue
Diane Erwin, Hub Springfield
Springfield’s fifth annual indie music and craft beer festival — IndieCraft — will feature a dozen bands, a new downtown venue, and two returning stages this year.
The free event takes place May 24-25. A full-size stage at National Road Commons Park, 50 W. Main St., will host the headliners at 8 p.m. each night – Brigitte Calls Me Baby on Friday, and Lydia Loveless on Saturday.
Returning venues include Mother Stewart’s Brewing, 102 W. Columbia St., and the State Theater, 19 S. Fountain Ave.
“To my mind, this is the best and deepest lineup we’ve ever had,” says Chris Schutte, vice president of destination marketing and communications for the Greater Springfield Partnership.
Performers also include Tommy Stinson, Vacation, Mol Sullivan, Joe Waters Band, crabswithoutlegs, Isai Morales and Devin Burgess, Leggy, Soften, K Carter and Mosant. The full schedule can be found on the IndieCraft website, with regular updates on its Facebook page.
The lineup includes punk, blues, indie hip hop and jazz-tinged musicians, Schutte says.
“These are genres and places we have not deeply gotten into,” he says, adding that the festival aims to become more eclectic as it grows. Organizers have previously said their template for the festival is South by Southwest in Austin and the festival has been gaining momentum each year it has taken place since it began (not counting the year off for the pandemic).
The diversity is in part thanks to WYSO, a supporting sponsor with two hosts who acted as co-curators of the lineup, Schutte says. He also credits premier sponsors Link-Hellmuth Insurance and Benjamin Steel for making the festival possible.
The festival also includes food trucks and beer concessions, with downtown’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) encompassing the venue areas and permitting DORA drinks.
Mother Stewart’s will host the beer festival portion of IndieCraft from the afternoon into the evening of Saturday, May 25, hosting visiting breweries. Attendees can purchase tasting portions in addition to pints.
Schutte expects between 2,000 and 3,000 people to attend the Memorial Day weekend festival. The event has largely been free since its inception – it charged a $10 fee for tickets to the Guided by Voices show in 2022 to control crowds – and Schutte says that “feels right” for an event such as this.
“We want to continue in that vein for as long as we can,” he says.
