Get excited: The Druid City Music Festival is less than 10 days away.
Tuscaloosa may be a smaller city than others who put on festivals, but this one will utilize more venues to get more of the community involved. Big Boi and Blackberry Smoke are headlining and will be part of the main stage extravaganza at Government Plaza.
Before that, there is a battle of the bands at the Tuscaloosa River Market. Friday, people can go see 33 acts at 17 different venues. Tuscaloosa’s two breweries, over a dozen local bars and Hotel Indigo are just a few that will host local and nationally recognized bands.
“So you could have B.J. Reed at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, she’s going to put on an incredible show,” Barrett Elder, marketing and communications manager at Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports, said. “Then at the Bama Theatre, we kind of consider our headline acts, which is Smooth Hound Smith. Barbaro will be opening for them as well. Then we have some local favorites like Plato Jones and Lamont Landers on Friday. Then Saturday, you get into our nationally touring acts.”
The City of Tuscaloosa wants to make DCMF as fun as possible for everyone, and public safety is their top priority.
“There is alcohol permitted outside, however a lot of people are under the impression you can bring your own, drink out of a cooler, have cans and bottles. You cannot,” Tuscaloosa Police Department’s Capt. Clint Davis said. “The alcohol has to be purchased from a vendor here on site or a local bar and restaurant. And ‘Entertainment District’ will be in effect, so you can walk around with open beverages as long as they’re in a cup and you have the approved sticker.”
Davis offers these extra pointers to get everyone prepared:
No pets, other than service animals
No weapons of any kind at the venue
Have a good, clean, fun time
“The clear bag policy will be in effect,” he said. “That means you can’t bring anything in other than in the approved clear plastic bag: 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches. No bigger than that. Smaller is okay. Or you can bring a clutch in that’s 4.5 by 6.5 inches.”
Off site venues will have their own policies and restrictions, but at Government Plaza, there will be security with metal detector wands checking people coming in. And TPD wants to remind everyone to take advantage of the parking deck and free street parking – and be prepared for heavy traffic.
“Those immediate streets right here around the venue will obviously closed off and then they’ll be closed off all day Saturday because we start at 10 a.m.,” Davis said.
To look at the full lineup and schedule, get general info and purchase tickets, visit dcmf2019.com. Keep an eye on wvua23.com next week to see exclusive interviews with over a dozen of the festival’s bands.
