Avon launches inaugural Heart and Soul music festival Saturday

The Town of Avon is closing out a full summer of outdoor concerts with the launch of a brand new music festival at Nottingham Park, with free admission for all.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, the Heart and Soul Music Festival will be taking place from 4-9 p.m. featuring two reggae artists, a number of food and beverage vendors and an atmosphere enhanced by light, laser and video art installations.

The Heart and Soul festival is inspired by Avon’s tagline and geographic position as “the heart of the valley,” and is intended to celebrate the town’s growth as a cultural center in Eagle County.

Danita Dempsey, the Cultural Arts and Special Events Manager in Avon, said that this year’s festival is a soft launch of what they hope will grow into a trademark immersive art and music experience for the valley.

“In 2021, we really started to implement some amazing art programs,” Dempsey said. “Avon is about music, community and art, so this is the event that we’re going to try and bring it all together.”

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The inaugural event features an original print by Pat Milbery, the artist behind the 2021 Avon Recreation Center mural, which has been designed and released specially for the Heart and Soul Festival. The first 80 people to share their experience at the festival on Instagram will receive a free copy of the print.

“I’m super excited and honored to be involved,” Milbery said. “It’s one thing to just do a project for someone and put up a big mural in town, it’s another to keep that continuity going, to continue to grow with those people and also with the space.”

Milbery said that the Town of Avon has made a clear commitment to supporting arts and culture in the mountains and has consistently designed events that are inclusive of all community members.

“They’re taking more of a progressive approach to public art and accessibility,” Milbery said. “I think it’s going to be awesome for the future of music and arts in the Valley, and they’re the ones to do it and really stand behind something like this.”

Art influence and installations will start small this year, but Dempsey said that the vision is to grow the festival into a fully immersive artistic experience. There will be surveys available to attendees on Saturday asking what kinds of art community members want to see become a part of the festival, as well as what kind of musical acts they would like to bring in.

“What comes to my mind is like Coachella and Burning Man — which Avon will never be — but they have those immersive art experiences,” Dempsey said. “We’re thinking about ‘Light Origami’ or ‘Wave: Light + Water + Sound’ in Breckenridge, where you can interact with art experiences if it’s sound or if it’s visual, or just by touch. Over time, we’re going to learn from our community what that art piece should look like.”

Musical acts

The main event on Saturday night are two live music performances from reggae artists Pato Banton & The Now Generation and Hempress Sativa.

Hempress Sativa is a contemporary reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica who blends roots reggae traditions with variants of hip hop, afrobeats and R&B. A Rastafarian musician, Hempress Sativa grew up in a musical family and developed her sound under the influence of the great Jamaican artists of the last century.

She has released two albums, “Unconquerebel” and “Scientist Meets Hempress Sativa in Dub”, and released her latest EP, “Ancient Kingdom” in 2019. Her songs “Boom (Dah da da Deng)” and “Rock It Ina Dance” have garnered millions of streams.

Co-headlining the festival with Hempress Sativa is Pato Banton & The Now Generation. Pato Banton, meaning “wise owl,” is an international touring artist originating from the UK who built a legacy as the face of UK reggae in the late 20th century.

He was first featured on English Beat’s third album, 1982’s Special Beat Service, and has remained a prominent contributor to global reggae in the decades since, charing with tracks like “Go Pato” and a “Baby Come Back” cover with members of UB40. Known for his upbeat tunes that resonate positivity, Banton’s set is guaranteed to get audience members on their feet.

For more information about the Heart and Soul Music Festival, visit Avon.org.