Aerosol and Audio Fest in Flint Town

Saturday I made the drive out to Flint for the Aerosol and Audio fest in Flint, Michigan that I wrote about last week. I had no idea what to expect as it was the first time that they were having this event and I have never been to Flint before. My first thought was Flint is a lot closer than I thought it was and it looks a lot like Detroit.

The event was hosted in Memorial Park in Downtown Flint, a few blocks from the main downtown strip. The park was surrounded by wooden walls that were being painted and tagged as we walked into the event. There were a few vendors selling art, a few food trucks feeding the attendees, and two stages that music was being played from. I was immediately given a free caramel apple by the beautiful Emma who dances with Tunde Olaniran and walked up to a stage where James Linck had begun playing. There was a large metal installment that looked like a monster behind the stage that one of the artist had designed and a small fire pit with all sorts of monster faces carved into the metal that was burning brightly and warming the crowd. James sang his little heart out and played with a full band sans a drummer. He is currently one of my top three artists out there and each show he just keeps getting better. I enjoyed hearing two new songs and have to remember to harass him this week to make sure that I get those in my hands as soon as they are recorded.

As soon as James finished, we walked over to the other stage across the park and watched The Hounds Below play. The second stage was bigger and literally looked like a kitchen on one side and a living room on the other. The kitchen area had a large table and the living room had art, couches, and lamps. It was one of the coolest DIY designs that I have ever seen. The Hounds Below sounded epic blasting through the Fall air, crisp guitars, crisp vocals, and crisp leather jackets. After they finished playing we grabbed some barbeque sandwiches from one of the vendors and walked around and looked at the artwork.

As the sun set, the drums kicked in and Tunde Olaniran took the stage to close the show. The only thing I can say about Tunde is that he is one of a kind, there is no one like him who does what he does. He crosses genres as far as his sound, his looks, and his style. His dancers enhance an already mind blowing show and his voice is always pitch perfect.

I hope that this is only the beginning for Aerosol and Audio fest, it was one of the coolest DIY fests I have ever been to and the set design and sound were great. Thank you so much to Tunde for inviting us out and letting us see you on your home turf. Don't forget that Tunde, Miz Karona, and James Linck will be playing together this Saturday at the New Way Bar in Ferndale, most of you can walk there so no excuses.

~S