Local music goes great with barbecue as Ribfest announces its entertainment line-up.
Rotary Ribfest, taking place Aug. 23 to 25 at the Mountjoy Historical Conservation Area, is bringing a lineup of local entertainment as a side dish to the ribs and barbecue on offer at the event.
Saturday night’s lineup is headlined by Failed Attempt with ColdWater and Shaftmen.
Sean Harris said taking the gig made a lot of sense.
“Playing local is where you want to be, especially something like Ribfest,” he said. “It’s been gone for a couple of years, and a lot of people are asking about it, so it’s probably going to be a packed house, which is great for us.”
Their style is what lead singer Brad Martel called “stuff that just became classic.”
Martel said he’s looking for a doggy bag from the ribbers to enjoy the food after their performance.
“Ribs will just make me tired, as delicious as they are,” he said.
The band is based out of Timmins with Harris, Martel, Curtis Westcott, Mike Ferri, and Kevin Morrissette, and they got together after several cancellations, giving them their name.
“We had gone through some reiterations of this band, different musicians, different people, and it just kept falling apart,” said Harris. “We brought Brad in and Kevin in, and we started getting these gigs together, but they’d get cancelled, or someone wouldn’t be available, and the last one, Curtis got COVID the night before. It was just like a failed attempt, and we went, ‘There’s the name!’”
Saturday’s Ribfest live music includes:
- 6 p.m. - Coldwater
- 8 p.m. - Shaftmen
- 10 p.m. - Failed Attempt
Ribfest started at 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug 23, and will have a foam party that evening with a DJ on site that night.
Gates open on Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. with ribs barbecue chicken, and Saturday will feature a rib-eating contest around 2 p.m. hosted by Kinz and Klomp.
The event still has spots open for Saturday afternoon and Sunday said organizer Andre Rochon.
“It’s a great chance for those who are just starting out,” he said.
Anyone interested in playing for the event can reach out to Rochon at [email protected]
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
