One of the signature summer music events on Madison’s South Side is back, as the 9th annual Next Level Park St. Music Fest returns to the Labor Temple Grounds on Saturday, Aug. 1, 3:30-8 p.m.
“We are going to have some great music,” Park Street Music Fest organizer Clyde Gaines tells Madison365. “But it’s also just a great chance to see different people, enjoy the community, and enjoy what South Madison has to offer while catching up with family and loved ones.”
The Park Street Music Fest will feature some great musical acts, including DJ Van Go at 3:30 p.m., Goddess Nacole at 4:15 p.m., SpellRed at 4:50 p.m., V Funk at 5:35 p.m. and will close out with C Dawson & Soul Company featuring Cleo Dailey at 7 p.m.
“This is our ninth year, and we want to provide an opportunity for family and friends to get together in a relaxed atmosphere, where they can just chill, enjoy one another, enjoy great music, enjoy the food trucks, and take advantage of the vendors that are going to be there,” Gaines says.
Gaines and his organization, PEBOGA, started Park Street Music Fest to fill a music void in Madison and to create an event for the South Madison community (and beyond) to come together. Park Street Music Fest actually started 10 years ago, but missed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We started Park Street Music Fest as just a way to give people in South Madison an opportunity to experience great music in their backyard, and then they could just enjoy the opportunities that South Madison has to offer, while also enjoying a great music event,” Gaines says.
Over the years, Music Fest has become much more than just music. It’s a place focused on community health and entrepreneurship.
Park Street Music Fest will also host the 5K walk/run at 9 a.m. “It’s open to everybody, but we’re primarily looking for men to show up,” Gaines says. “There will also be some preventative health trainings, as well.”
Gaines says that the focus on health means so much more after he has seen some men in the greater Madison community who weren’t particularly old pass away over the last year from health-related issues.
“We’ve been losing a lot of people unexpectedly — particularly Black men. I was almost part of this myself having a cardiac arrest, and so we think it’s important to, on top of the great music, to focus on our health,” Gaines says. Two years ago, Gaines suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed at his home and was hospitalized, where he was able to pull through despite a dire outlook. “We need to know what our blood pressure is and the importance of exercise, and know what you’re supposed to do to be healthy consistently. Just the simple things that make a difference, and we want to keep the community aware of what those things are.”
There will be a variety of vendors at the Park Street Music Fest, coordinated by UJAMAA Business Network. Food vendors will include Sistah’s Chicken & Fish, Papadog, Sweets by Sweet Soul, and Kona Ice. There will also be retail vendors present, Gaines says.
“We are looking to have an overall great day. Hopefully, the weather cooperates with us, and we are just looking forward to having a good time,” Gaines says.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source madison365.com ’
