The musical lineup for Sundown Salute 2017 has been announced with far more acts than originally anticipated.
The reorganized Sundown Salute Committee has been hard at work addressing an inherited $30,000 debt while trying to maintain the integrity of the annual celebration.
Dennis Beson, Chamber of Commerce CEO, formally endorsed Sundown Salute earlier this year and has been hard at work helping the committee bring the festival to life.
“If things go like they’re supposed to go, when people come out and attend the events and we avoid rain, then not only should we be able to break even, but we’ll also be able to pay off a lot of the debt that we were given when we started this project,” said Beson.
Debt has been the dark cloud hanging over the event for months, but the reorganized committee has made conscious efforts to be financially responsible.
“A big part of the reason that I wanted to come and help is that they had a lot of good things going; they were very economical with [musical] acts,” said Beson.
June 30th is the first day of Sundown Salute with DJs and dance party music, Quiet Riot headlines on Saturday, country music on Sunday, heavy metal on Monday, and patriotic themed music on the Fourth of July.
“I think we have a really wide spoke, wide variety of genres.”
Over fifteen musical acts are scheduled for the five day celebration, with twelve featured artists/groups; how did they manage to do so much, with less?
“I think what you probably won’t see this year that maybe you’ve seen in the past are some of the during the day type events where maybe we had BMX bikes, or maybe there was a magician,” said Beson. “I think the focus this year is much more on music – so that’s where I think we’ve cut a lot; we’ve just been good stewards of the money that people are sponsoring.”
Aside from the small daytime acts, Sundown Salute 2017 won’t cut corners when it comes to community favorites. The Ottaway Amusements Carnival will still provide games and rides for all five days, and the fireworks show is expected to be much more efficient than in past years.
Featured lineups for the June 30th through July 4th celebration include:
- Friday, June 30th: 5:00 pm – DJ Dmoe, 6:45 pm – DJ Supa Dave, 8:30 pm – Mike Scott
- Saturday, July 1st: 6:00 pm – Madman’s Diary, 7:30 pm- The Banned, 9:00 pm – Quiet Riot
- Sunday, July 2nd: 6:00 pm – Adam Capps, 7:30 pm – Matt Mason, 9:00 pm – Tate Stevens
- Monday, July 3rd: 6:00 pm – Brassknuckle Boulevard, 7:30 pm – Waffle Stomp, 9:00 pm – Season’s After
- Tuesday, July 4th: 7:30 pm – 1st Infantry Division Rock Band, 9:00 pm – 1st Infantry Division Band
The annual car show will be on Saturday, July 1st at 8:00 am, and the Abilene gunfighters will perform three shows on Saturday. The fireworks show is scheduled for Tuesday, July 4th at 10:15 pm (or at dark).
Sponsors are still needed for Sundown Salute; for more information call 785-414-8611 or email sundownsalutejc@gmail.com.