The North Mississippi Allstars will headline Federales Fest, a brand new fall music competition happening Saturday at Live Oak Arabians Horse Farm at Cedar Lodge, 6300 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge. 

The six-band lineup provides Americana, rock and nation music.

The competition additionally consists of nationwide acts Duane Betts & Palmetto Hotel and the Texas Gentlemen in addition to the Baton Rouge bands Elsah, Hitchhiker and, performing solely their fourth reunion present since 1994, Thoughts of Mary.

Festival organizers will cap ticket gross sales at 1,000. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the music begins with Thoughts of Mary at 2 p.m.

J. Hover and Chris Brooks, two veterans of the native music scene, are co-producing Federales Fest. Hover is music promoter at Beauvoir Park and director of leisure for Red Stick Social. Brooks’ credit embrace the Baton Rouge Blues Festival and Bandito Fest.

“Baton Rouge needs events of the caliber Federales Fest hopes to be,” Hover stated. “It’s kind of the second rendition of the Bandito Fest that took place downtown, but we’ve got a great new host venue.”

Rain or shine, bands will carry out on a stage within the web site’s lined horse enviornment. There’s no normal admission seating, however festgoers might carry folding chairs. On-site parking is offered.

Hover anticipates Federales Fest will probably be an annual occasion.

“We hope to build it into something bigger next year, maybe a two-day event,” he stated.

In addition to music, the competition options delicacies from quite a lot of native eating places. General admission is $75. VIP admission is $200, providing a reserved part that includes foods and drinks. Children below 12 are admitted free, excluding VIP. A portion of the competition proceeds will profit Behind the Line Baton Rouge, a nonprofit that helps first responders and their households.

Federales Fest’s attracts embrace a reunion by Thoughts of Mary, a twangy, standard Baton Rouge indie-rock band from the early Nineties. All 5 authentic members — Marc Daigle, guitar and vocals; Gabe Daigle, vocals; Bill Rhodes, guitar and vocals; Joel Dicharry, bass; and Keith Simoneaux, drums — will carry out.

Thoughts of Mary was a part of a energetic musical period in Louisiana that included Better than Ezra, Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock and the Bluerunners. The band’s Federales Fest look follows the 2021 re-release of Thoughts of Mary’s remixed and remastered 1993 album, “Paper, Rock, Scissors.”

Wendell Tilley, the unique producer of “Paper, Rock, Scissors,” remixed the album at his studio in Nashville for its digital-only re-release. Tilley’s former band, Func Haus, was one other of Thoughts of Mary’s contemporaries in Baton Rouge.

“During the pandemic,” Marc Daigle stated, “Wendell reached out to us on Facebook. He said, ‘Hey, would you guys be interested in having me remix the record?’ We said, ‘That sounds fantastic. We were all about it.’ ”

“It was a Saturday night at my house,” Tilley stated of his inspiration for doing the remix, “and my wife played the Thoughts of Mary record from their YouTube channel. She was a fan.”

Thoughts of Mary recorded “Paper, Rock, Scissors” on the late Harold Cowart’s Bluff Road Recording Studio. Tilley subsequently tweaked the recording at Nelson Blanchard’s Techno Sound Studio in Baton Rouge. Because of the a long time of studio expertise Tilley gained since he first labored with “Paper, Rock, Scissors,” in addition to advances in recording expertise, he was positive he may enhance the Thoughts of Mary album. Luckily, Blanchard had saved the album’s authentic two-inch tapes at his house.

“Wendell didn’t add anything or change anything,” Marc Daigle stated of Tilley’s remix. “But he enhanced the drums and bass, making them fuller sounding. If you listen to the original and to the new one, it’s not a subtle change. It’s now a much more natural, punchy record.”

Thoughts of Mary additionally launched two beforehand unissued songs from the “Paper, Rock, Scissors” periods.

“Marc and I laugh about that,” stated Gabe Daigle, who’s no relation to his bandmate, Marc Daigle. “When we released the album, we thought those two songs shouldn’t make the cut. Now, looking back, we think they’re better than a lot of what we released. It just goes to show that time tells different stories.”