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Written by Alex Schreiber Wednesday, 01 September 2010 15:40

It took us awhile, but we found our musical savior in LouFest organizer Brian Cohen. He has put together a mix of great local talent and internationally famous bands to put St. Louis on the festival map.

Finally, a real-deal, two-day outdoor music festival has come to St. Louis. Music festivals have been popping up all over the United States since the success of Bonnaroo, which debuted in 2002. It took us awhile, but we found our musical savior in LouFest organizer Brian Cohen. He has put together a mix of great local talent and internationally famous bands to put St. Louis on the festival map. For over ten hours each day, one of the eighteen bands performed, with only a five-minute break between each act. The crowd only had to walk the few steps between the blue Stage and the orange stage to catch every band.

I missed the opening band both days (they took the stage at noon), but damn it, I am just not a morning person. Stephanie Sid was just starting as I walked through the entrance, and she was ready to rock. It was only one in the afternoon and she was belting out screams and hopping up and down at the same time. Her voice and persona were reminiscent of a grungier Regina Spektor and/or Lisa Loeb’s evil twin. By the end of her set she was dancing with a long, white veil-looking material until it was wound around her entire body and she looked like the mummy of King Tut.

The nerdy, palindrome-d indie rockers So Many Dynamos followed up by boasting, “We are on a first name basis with 75% of the crowd!” The St. Louis band’s fun, fast lyrics and the synthesizer-driven tempo of most of their songs brought the fun level way up. They invited the Funky Butt Brass Band onstage near the end of their set for “Search Party.” The entire stage turned into an instrument-bashing frenzy that capped off the insanely high energy of the set.