Friday Video: Betty Dreams Of Green Men

Back in June, my brother mentioned that Celebrate Fairfax was mentioned in an episode of NPR's All Songs Considered. I was curious as to why, but we'll get to that momentarily. I regularly listen to NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast (my best podcast of 2016), so I thought that PCHH's Stephen Thompson, an editor and reviewer for NPR Music, would be discussing music. While it seems that Thompson often appears on All Songs Considered, he was not on this particular podcast.

At around the 36 minute mark of the June 13th episode, NPR Music's Lars Gotrich comes in and mentions that he saw Bush at the "Fairfax County Fair." The two other hosts were really dismissive of county fairs and a little of Bush. Clearly, they have never been to Celebrate Fairfax which features dozens and dozens of live bands every year. Anyway, here are the bands/musicians that were featured on this particular episode of All Songs Considered:

Guerilla Toss
Chastity Belt
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
Mt. Wolf
Gordi
Thoughts Of Ionesco

None of these bands/musicians will ever be big enough to headline a county fair. And maybe they don't want to headline a county fair, but just how dismissive the hosts were of "county fair" turned me off.

Anyway, the first song featured on All Songs Considered is Betty Dreams of Green Men by Guerilla Toss. The song was inspired by the "alien abduction" of Betty & Barney Hill in New Hampshire. It's such an interesting and unique song that I felt the need to share. I dig it.

Celebrate Fairfax 2017

Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide event, the 36th annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, is tomorrow, June 9th, through Sunday, June 11th at the Fairfax County Government Center. This family-friendly event features more than 130 performances on eight stages, carnival rides, hundreds of exhibits/exhibitors, nightly fireworks, the always entertaining DockDogs championships, and fair food! This will be my 16th year being part of the festival, meaning that I've been there long enough to finally be able to drive a golf cart! I say this every year, but where else can you see concerts for $15 at the door (or less if you get tickets at Wegmans today or buy them online) and get to see everything else the festival has to offer? Let me know if you can get tickets for one of the headlining bands for less than $15 (even without the fees) at another venue.*

Anyway, here are this year's main attractions:

Friday, June 9th at 8:00 p.m. - Bush

As the lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter behind multi-platinum rock band Bush, Gavin Rossdale has sold close to 20 million records in the U.S. and Canada alone. Together with Bush, he’s compiled an amazing string of 18 consecutive Top 40 hit singles on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, including 11 that hit the Top 5.  Six of these became No. 1 hits: “Comedown,” “Glycerine,” “Machinehead,” “Swallowed,” “The Chemicals Between Us” and “The Sound of Winter.” Bush is currently touring in support of their newest album, Black and White Rainbows.



By the way, how do we live in a world where Machinehead has less than 2 million views on YouTube, while The Chainsmokers have over 100 million views for their song Paris?

Saturday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m. - Everclear with special guests Vertical Horizon and Fastball

It’s been 20 years since Everclear released their 1997 multiplatinum smash So Much For The Afterglow, yet the album remains a beloved fan favorite, and continues to inspire new generations of musicians & fans today. Bolstered by the record’s enduring popularity, Everclear are about to embark on a highly anticipated tour celebrating its milestone anniversary, with plans to perform the album front to back, including some tracks the band has never played live.  Everclear will be joined on this tour by special guests Vertical Horizon and Fastball.



Sunday, June 11th from Noon to 6 p.m. – The Sunday Brew

The newest addition to the Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, the Sunday Brew is a pop-up beer festival being held Sunday from 12pm to 6pm at the Bud Light Main Stage.  The Sunday Brew will feature 13 local and regional breweries, each with up to 4 types of craft beer on tap. This program will also include two stages of non-stop entertainment, beer-focused activities and exhibits.  All festival attendees are welcome to enjoy the music and activities; however, only those attendees that purchased the Sunday Brew ticket may will be able to taste the craft brews. Tickets are limited

For more information about the festival, check out the Celebrate Fairfax website.

In addition, please follow me on Twitter and Facebook as I'm sure that I'll share pictures during the weekend.


* For example, Bush is playing at the IP Casino Resort And Spa in Biloxi on June 30th and tickets start at $54. On July 1st, Bush plays the
Revention Music Center in Houston, and then at Stubbs BBQ in Austin on July 2nd. Tickets start at $35 at both locations with a $7.25 fee at Stubbs (and probably more for the Houston show.

Something For Everyone

Most of you probably know that I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and now live in Northern Virginia. Therefore, I tend to write about subjects related to both Western Pennsylvania and the Washington DC area. Today, I'm writing about both.

Northern Virginia

I wrote about the 2015 Celebrate Fairfax headliners a few weeks ago. Since that time, Bush had to cancel meaning that I need to update that post. While I'd really like to blame Gwen Stefani, I can't. I mean, Gwen Stefani is just so cool. I'll blame Gavin Rossdale instead.

Instead of Bush, Kongos will perform on the Friday night of the festival. While you may not be familiar with the band, you probably know this song.



Kongos is a bit of a departure for Celebrate Fairfax. The festival's headliners are generally more established, so it's nice to see an up-and-coming act. I hope that translates to a nice audience as it seems like Kongos put on a good show.

The other Celebrate Fairfax news is that you can buy Super Early Bird tickets through TODAY for only $8. Starting tomorrow, tickets will go up to $10 which is still an extremely great deal for a concert/festival. I've definitely paid more than $10 for a "service charge" before.

Pittsburgh

This is from the Post-Gazette's Tuned In. Here's your chance to be an extra in the Cinemax show Banshee.

Nancy Mosser Casting is looking for Extras, Stand-ins and Photodoubles ages 18 and older for Season 4 of the hit Cinemax show, “BANSHEE”. Filming will predominantly take place in the Vandergrift area.

OPEN CALL INFO:

WHEN: MONDAY, APRIL 13TH from 4:00pm-8:00pm. Talent may come anytime during this period.

WHERE: Casino Theatre – 145 Lincoln Avenue Vandergrift, PA 15690 - Free parking is available in the lot out front.

WHAT TO EXPECT: You will be signing up to be on file with our company and having your photo taken. Registration is free and will take less than 15 minutes of your time. Must be U.S. Citizens.

In addition to needing regular townspeople, press types and police department background, we are looking for a lot of character types including Bearded men, People with visible piercings who are heavily tattooed, Goth/Punk types and Men with shaved heads.

***THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY ON FILE WITH MOSSER CASTING DO NOT NEED TO ATTEND THIS OPEN CALL

If you are unable to attend, you may create a Free profile on our website at www.mossercasting.com under Talent Registration to be considered for the show!

So does this mean that townspeople, press types and police department staff aren't heavily tattooed, Goth/Punk types and Men with shaved heads?

2015 Celebrate Fairfax Headliners

Celebrate Fairfax!, Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide celebration taking place on June 5-7, 2015 at the Fairfax County Government Center, announced its headliners for this year's festival.

Friday, June 5th: BUSH UPDATE: See this post to see that Kongos are in while Bush is out.

Bush are a British rock band formed in London in 1992. The band found their immediate success with the release of their debut album Sixteen Stone in 1994, which is certified 6× multi-platinum by the RIAA. Bush went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1990s, selling over 10 million records in the United States. (From Wikipedia)

Should it be Bush is instead of Bush are? Regardless, this is a great get for Celebrate Fairfax. Plus, there's always a chance that Bush front man Gavin Rossdale's wife attends too. Maybe Gwen Stefani will take the kids to lunch at Coastal Flats before the show and then serve as a judge at the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship during the festival. She does have musical judging experience.







Saturday, June 6th: 3 DOORS DOWN

The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which charted in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed onto Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Their second album, Away from the Sun, (2002) continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the United States like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". Since the start of their career, 3 Doors Down have sold over 20 million albums worldwide. (Again, from Wikipedia)





Bush and 3 Doors Down may be the best 1-2 combination of bands Celebrate Fairfax has ever had.

Sunday, June 7th: THE AMISH OUTLAWS

They look like fun.



Please click here to learn more about Celebrate Fairfax and you'll be able to buy tickets (discounted tickets!) around April 1st.

I know that I write this every year, but I have no idea where else you can buy such inexpensive concert tickets while also getting admission for dozens of other performances and activities.