Freeway Music Festival, Beyond the Music

For fans of local music, Spring 2017 in Columbia’s offered the chance to see an incredible amount of local music. Between Art Bar Agora two weeks ago, WXRY Music Crawl coming up, and Freeway Music Festival Saturday, over 50 acts from South Carolina are included. Freeway Music Festival is much more than just a local music festival though. Each year there is another cause involved.

Proceeds from this year’s festival go to Songs 4 Life Charity, and more specifically their Food 4 Life Campaign: providing local neighborhoods who need assistance a sustainable supply of food. Where will that food come from? To me, this is the most exciting part. You’ll get to see the benefits from the price you pay at the door Saturday through a Aquaponics Greenhouse at the City Roots complex in Columbia off Rosewood Drive. Funds from the festival go directly to supply not only the greenhouse structure, but solar panels, seeds, fish and tanks required to maintain the eco-system. For the release of the festivals lineup we all gathered at City Roots and we were surrounded by elementary school students on field trips. Those students are also a focus of the Food 4 Life program as students and special needs teenagers are taught news of growing produce and fish creating a circle of sustainable food.

Saturday, music will be split between three stages, two inside of Music Farm Columbia and one inside the adjoining Tin Roof.

Free Times Stage (In Tin Roof Columbia)

3:00-3:30 Alarm Drum

4:00-4:30 Secret Guest

5:00-5:45 King Vulture

6:15-7:00 sandcastles.

7:30-8:15 FatRat Da Czar

WXRY 99.3 FM Acoustic Stage (Music Farm Patio)

12-3 Freeway Music Acoustic Acts

3:30-4:00 Ben Walker

4:30-5:00 Barnwell

5:45-6:15 The Post-Timey String Band

7:00-7:45 Danielle Howle

Scene SC/ Archer Avenue Studio Stage (Music Farm Riser)

3:30-4:00 Bellavida

4:30-5:00 NUMBTONGUE

5:45-6:30 Dempsey

7:15-8:00 The High Divers

Molina Healthcare Stage (Music Farm Columbia Stage)

12-3 Freeway Music Rock Bands

3-3:30 Ropeswing Marathon CD Release

4:00-4:30 The Lovely Few

5:00-5:45 2 Slices

6:30-7:15 The Mobros

8:00-8:45 The Restoration

9:00 Joe Pug