Live blues and rock music is coming to Columbia Pike next month, courtesy of Acme Pie Co.
The Bike & Music Fest will return to 2406 Columbia Pike on Saturday, Sept. 19. Pastry chef Sol Schott has been hosting some version of this event at least once a year for about a decade, but he has locked in some bigger names this year as he hosts the event in a field next to Acme Pie.
“Doing it again this year but a little bigger,” Schott told ARLnow. “Every one of these musicians is a local legend.”
The lineup is as follows:
- Broken Men and Their Fixer: 1-2 p.m.
- Rick Franklin: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
- Colonel Josh: 3:45-5:15
- Wellvis: 5:30-7 p.m.
- Nighthawks: 7:30-9 p.m.
The Nighthawks, based in D.C., are the headliner. Active since the ’70s, their singer and harmonica player, Mark Wenner, opened for B.B. King and played with artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan.
“They’re bigger than we have done in the past,” Schott said. “[Wenner] is a friend of mine and he’s a local musician, but normally I’ve stuck with smaller names.”
The festival has a suggested donation of $20. An event page advertises half-off slices of pie at Acme for guests who bring a motorcycle, and Schott also plans to bring out a smoker to cook chicken or duck.
Over the years, the music festival has shifted from its origins in the punk rock scene to more of a blues and rock and roll focus, Schott said.
“The music scene has lost a lot of places in the last, I don’t know, 15 years,” he said. “Rents go up, venues don’t seem to generate as much money as they once did.”
Schott used to host the event a few blocks further west on the Pike, in a parking lot near his old location at 2803 Columbia Pike. After relocating last year, he hosted the festival in its new location for the first time.
He expects people to come and go throughout the day, and encourages them to check out local businesses on Columbia Pike.
“I don’t really expect people to stand around for, you know, eight hours and listen to music,” Schott said. “I would imagine they would come, watch one of the bands that intrigues them, and then go eat … and then come back after they’ve had a drink.”
