35 Denton music festival

Founding member and TWU staff member shares information about bands and venues

Emily Nickles, Editor-in-Chief

So you are stuck in Denton over Spring Break and wondering what to do. Even if you miss SXSW, there’s still plenty to do around this small college town. 35 Denton Music Festival starts this weekend, March 11-13. Over 120 bands are in the line-up, and it is guaranteed to be one of the biggest events this spring.

Bands will be playing around the clock at eight different venues, not including the two outdoor stages, where bands will be alternating during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are pretty affordable, too. A 3-day pass is $65, and it includes entrance into all of the concerts playing at the venues. Fast Track tickets are offered at $100 each, with preferential options and VIP treatment. Day Passes start at $25 on Friday, so even if you only want to attend one day to see your preferred bands, the option is available.

The acts are promised to be subject to variety; what 35 Denton claims on www.musicfestivalwizard.com: “… is an eclectic mix of new artists on the cusp of the mainstream as well as larger legendary performers.”

TWU staff member and Senior Network Engineer Wally Campbell is a co-founder and friend of 35 Denton founder Chris Flemmons. Campbell began by helping out with the technical scene, doing logistics and operations, and is now the director of the event. He shared: “I’ve been working on 35 since it’s been in Denton.” In addition to working at TWU for 19 years, Campbell has been involved with 35 Denton for a total of seven years, give or take a few transitional years.

Campbell shared: “The founder, Chris Flemmons from the Baptist General, he’s the one that started this — he just decided to bring this up to Denton and make it the week before SXSW. That way we could get a lot of the people who are heading down there.”    

According to Campbell, the mix of venues are set at Dan’s Silver Leaf, Andy’s Bar, the Abbey Underground, J&J’s on the Square, LSA Burger, Rubber Gloves, Lone Star Taps and Caps, and lastly, the Greater Denton Arts Council building: the Patterson Appleton Center for the Visual Arts.

Headliners are Charles Bradley and Biz Markie, both of whom Campbell expects people are excited to see perform. Not to mention Eliot Sumner, the daughter of Sting. Campbell added: “There’s a lot of good club shows, too. Dixie Witch will be playing at Andy’s Saturday night, and that’ll be awesome. They’re a band that started in Denton… We have two really cool showcases Friday night at Dan’s Silver Leaf, Will Johnson will be playing there. He played with Centro-Matic.”

The festival will be closing down Hickory Street, east of the Square, for the event. Bands will be playing until 10 p.m. outdoors, and the music scene in the venues will continue late into the night. Campbell mentioned that they expect between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees this year, a number that keeps growing steadily.