Fairfield First Fridays to host virtual open mic

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield First Fridays Art Walk will host a virtual open mic night during its February Art Walk on Friday.

The event will last from 6-9 p.m. and will feature live and recorded musicians. Those who miss the event don’t have to fret because they will be able to watch it later. Fairfield First Fridays Executive Director Marla Brader said she will leave links up to the performances.

“We might get 20-30 views per video that night, but if you look four or five days later, it will be a lot more,” Brader said.

Art walk will upload videos to its YouTube channel. Those artists who are performing live will tag Fairfield First Fridays on their Facebook page, so residents can watch it on Facebook Live.

Brader said the musical lineup for Friday is set, though she’s always willing to make last-minute changes if a group wants to be included. She will do what she can to fit them in, and groups are welcome to submit links to their live performances or recordings of their shows for viewers to see later.

Art walk has done a few virtual open mic nights since the pandemic began two years ago. Brader said she had to learn a lot when they switched from live open mics to virtual ones.

“In some ways the virtual ones are easier and in some ways they’re harder,” she said. “Technology can get in the way, like somebody’s internet goes down when they’re about to perform. We try to prepare for every possibility.”

On top of the open mic performances, several art galleries will be open for in-person viewing, such as ICON Gallery and the Carnegie Historical Museum, which will be showing off its new exhibits. The Bookhouse will have a micro-gallery on display (note its new location at 54 W. Burlington Ave.). The Fairfield Art Association will submit a video advertising its upcoming member exhibit. The FAA was hoping to unveil that display Friday, but has delayed the opening night reception to the March Art Walk on March 4.

Youth Art

The next Art Walk on March 4 will feature a youth art gallery at the Fairfield Public Library. In previous years, members of the Fairfield High School individual speech team have performed their acts at the library, though last year the students did not perform live but rather submitted recordings of their speeches. Brader said she’s waiting to hear back from the teachers about what they and the students are comfortable doing this year, and whether the gallery and speech acts will be held in-person or not.

“Trying to decide whether to make the February event in-person or virtual was hard because a portion of the population thinks in-person events are fine, and another portion thinks ‘this is really bad for community spread,’” Brader said. “We get complaints from people no matter which one we choose. We have a nice, big library where the traffic flow is great. If the teachers feel comfortable doing it in-person, the library is a great venue.”

Performance line-up

The following performers have signed up for Friday night’s Art Walk. Some have indicated they will perform live (L) and others have indicated they will submit a video (V), while others have not decided.

6-7 p.m.

-Philadelphia Phil (L)

-Tom Allen

-Lu Brown (V)

-Lorelai Oliver

-Jenny Sammons (V)

7-8 p.m.

-Wes Brown (L)

-Kathleen Camilla King (V)

-Pierce Crask (L)

-Alfonso Valdes (V)

-Steve Jeffries (V)

8-9 p.m.

-Jim Comey

-Nate Littrell (L)

-Yosi Mesbah (L)

-Yung Hunny (V)

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com