IMC Fest: three days and nights of local music and art

9:00 am Apr 15 - by Amanda Shively – buzz Music Editor

Related Media

Dan Blah, event organizer for the upcoming IMC Fest. Photo by Brad Thorp

See Slideshow (2 images)

Related Venues

Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center »
Address: 202 S. Broadway Ave. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 344-8820
Show on map

For the music fan looking to make the best of Boneyard Arts Festival 2009, it is hard to argue against the perks of IMC Fest. Held at the Independent Media Center in Downtown Urbana, IMC Fest is three days (and nights) of predominantly local artists for a price that equates to roughly one dollar per band.

2009's IMC Fest is the fourth occurrence for the event, with the last being held in 2007, and this year, the Fest has received the honor of being the officially sanctioned evening spotlight for the Saturday, April 18 Downtown Urbana focus. This spotlight encourages Boneyard attendees to check out that specific event when making a decision amongst the overwhelming number of options at this year’s Festival.

Dan Blah, an IMC volunteer and part of a group of event organizers for the 2009 Fest, shared his excitement for the upcoming three days of music. “[As far as the music goes] everyone has preferences and I think you can see the diversity in the line-up this year,” Blah said.

The three day event finds sets ranging from the oft-touring locals Headlights and campus darlings Santa, to the quick wit of Agent Mos and the soulful Kilborn Alley.

“This year there aren’t really [theme] nights. We experimented with mixing folk and punk bands, or hip-hop and indie acts. Often these ‘unusual’ combinations are placed together at shows anyway,” Blah explained.

In conjunction with Boneyard Arts Festival, the IMC will also host drawings and paintings from a more “raw” source of prisoners, displaced locals and activists groups.

Blah’s suggestions for conquering the event were realistic—remain hydrated and check out the other local events.

“At basically a dollar a band, you can stop in for a couple [acts] and it’s worth your money. There are something like 15 places [with forms of art] within a 5 minute walk. Enjoy Urbana,” Blah said.

IMC Fest 2009 performances will be held Friday, April 17 from 6 p.m until 3 a.m, Saturday, April 18 from 5:30 p.m. until 3 a.m., and Sunday, April 19 from 4 p.m. until 11:25 p.m. Tickets are $10 a day or $20 for a three-day pass on Friday and $15 for the two-day pass on Saturday and can be purchased at the Independent Media Center at 202 S. Broadway in Urbana. Proceeds from the event will benefit a number of community organizations including Books to Prisoners, Radio Free Urbana WRFU and funding the performance space and production facilities.

For more information on the event including a full schedule, visit www.imcfest.org

Sound Off

The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the visitors who submitted them and do no represent the opinions of the217, WPGU, buzz or Illini Media staff members.

No comments yet!

Add your comment:

Put a name to your comments! Sign In or Register. Registered users can track their comments in their profile, use avatar images, and participate in forum discussions.