From Country Road to Don’t Stop Believing to Learn to Fly, Second Street echoed with music for the 16th annual Hootenanny. The event provides live music across various bars, breweries and …
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From Country Road to Don’t Stop Believing to Learn to Fly, Second Street echoed with music for the 16th annual Hootenanny. The event provides live music across various bars, breweries and restaurants in downtown Hastings that switch every half hour, all the while raising funds for school music programs throughout the district. This year, the Hootenanny raised $21,175.
Musicians scrambling from one venue to the next, lugging guitars up and down Second Street, was a common sight Saturday night. Bands split up and came together with members jumping into solo acts and often having to leave one set only to immediately start another somewhere down the street.
“The nature of the Hootenanny is fast and loose,” said frontman for the alt-rock band The Deeper Kind Michael Kampa.
That cadence is a key part of how the event was conceptualized: “The brisk pace is a designed element of Hooting, it keeps music going continuously throughout the night at each spot, plus helps get as many different musicians involved as possible,” according to the Hootenanny’s website.
Despite that rushing between venues, many band members characterized the event as laid back. Kampa has been playing in the event for the better part of a decade and “every year it gets easier.” The Deeper Kind played their half hour set at the 2nd Street Depot at 5 p.m., playing mostly original songs. The band is currently work on their first album.
Musicians for the punk rock band Life Aside Erin Tuckner and Chris Rico lauded the event for requiring improvisation, with other musicians jumping up on stage alongside them to play. They also cited it as a uniquely Hastings event, calling it “a taste of Hastings,” with local business owners, teachers and graduates alike taking up the mic at various times throughout the night. Bands playing in the event are asked to have some kind of connection to Hastings itself.
For those looking to take part in the action next year, the Hootenanny begins building lists of interested bands starting in January. While there is no formal signup for the event, interested acts or bands can message the Hootenanny Facebook page or send an email to thehootenany@juno.com. Event organizers ask, however, that the acts are somehow related to Hastings.
