St. Paul Park marina to host music fest

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What’s better than a summer night on a Mississippi River marina? How about some live music to go with it?

A handful of Minnesota bands will take the stage Saturday at the inaugural Local Artist Zest Music Fest at St. Paul Park’s Hidden Harbor Marina. It’s a festival the concert’s organizers hope will help grow the local music scene outside the area’s traditional Minneapolis hotbed.

The event was organized by Jarret Lasman, a 29-year-old engineer from Roseville whose band, East Fillmore, will play Saturday. Lasman said he picked up playing in what he called “a bar band” only after he graduated from college and sought a “life-long hobby.” East Fillmore has played two shows at Hidden Harbor Marina and Lasman said the band’s strongest following is from the southeast metro area.

“I think that it’s cool to have some fun music outside of Minneapolis,” Lasman said. “I think Minneapolis is so typecast as the music scene. There are so many other places with good music.”

The event is scheduled to run from 2 p.m. to midnight on the picturesque marina grounds that overlook the Mississippi river. In the event of rain, organizers say the event will move indoors to the marina’s ballroom.

The bands set to take part in the event are:

-- Off the Record

-- East Fillmore

-- Stereo Pirates

-- Cole Allen Band

-- Furious George

Festival tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance at the marina, located at 388 Ninth Ave., by contacting participating bands or through the event’s website at facebook.com/LocalArtistZestMusicFest. Tickets can also be purchased the day of the event.

Advance tickets grant free access to a beer tasting sponsored by the Newport-St. Paul Park Lions Club that is scheduled from 4-7 p.m. Food and beverages will be available for purchase by concertgoers.

Lasman says he hopes to see the festival grow in coming years — including the addition of a second day — and said he would like to keep it based at Hidden Harbor’s rural outdoor setting.

“It is a really cool venue to be having an outdoor event,” he said. “It would be great if we could do the festival with the Hidden Harbor Marina continually.”

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