Myah Christenson | Aug 21, 2019 AT 10:38 am
Click to Enlarge Photo: Common Roots Festival(KNSI) – Local downtown St. Cloud venues will be filled with musicians all weekend for the third annual Common Roots Festival.
Common Roots is an original music festival that takes place over three days with 11 venues and 13 different stages to showcase locally owned businesses.
“We started three years ago as a result of road construction on Fifth Avenue that was hurting business in downtown St. Cloud. So, a group of people got together to decide how they might be able to help bring some business in downtown,” said Common Roots coordinator, Dawn Yilek.
The festival has a variety of music genres. Artist’s sets must be 75% of their original music.
“This year, we added an EDM stage. We have a lot of country music, a lot of folk and Americana music. We have a metal night at The Nest. You name it. We probably have it.”
The festival even has a variety show featuring comedians, drag performances and burlesque performances.
Although you must be 21+ to enter some of the venues, overall the festival is for all ages.
“One of the nice things about having so many different types of venues is that it’s all ages. In fact, on Saturday we have our Bazaar in the Lady Slipper parking lot from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and that stage is all students.”
The Bazaar also features local artists and music-related businesses selling their merchandise.
“We really are showcasing locally owned businesses who support the festival… So, we try to reciprocate that support.”
Tickets are in the form of a button that gives access to all the venues throughout the weekend, plus 24 different specials from the participating businesses.
“So, your ten-dollar button, you can actually get the cost back by utilizing some of these businesses and taking advantage of their specials.”
The specials run through Labor Day.
The festival starts on Thursday and will run through Sunday. Get tickets at participating venues.
A kick-off party is tonight at Beaver Island Brewery featuring celebrity beer-tenders, live music and food from Green Mill.