Honey it’s the Weekend: Bowling Green shines bright with Starry Nights Festival; Cheyenne Marie Mize joins She Might Bite

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The rain has mellowed Louisville out this week, and many prepare to head west this weekend to experience Starry Nights Festival.

Starry Nights is a music happening loaded with regional all-stars, and popular national acts.

Readers, and non-readers, will head to the debut of Faces at the Palace, an all-local affair at Louisville’s most iconic venue, The Louisville Palace. It’s a good weekend not only be a Louisvillian, but a Commonwealther!

 Carpe diem music fans. The event is at Balance Farms, 13101 Louisville Rd., so set your GPS.

• Starry Nights Festival in Bowling Green on Fri., Sept. 28 and Sat., Sept. 29

Everyone loves an underdog, and Bowling Green, is our state’s version of the Little Engine that Could. One may laugh at the thought of something cool happening in Western Kentucky, but Bowling Green is developing nicely. With a fine institution such as Western Kentucky University, a growing music scene and a close proximity to Nashville, it is of no big surprise the city hosts a formidable music festival, one that represents the true Kentuckiana music fan.

Starry Nights festival kicks off Friday with five local bands; including Canago, a multi-genre band with a strong presence in Louisville. Canago has built a buzz off their New Years Eve show at the Hideaway, and a recent Glassworks rooftop gig. Other Local acts include Buffalo Rodeo, Five Knives and Somaaa.

The festival is open to camping and has recreational activities such as Frisbee golf, an art wall and a hot air balloon. There is also plenty of farmland to explore, conquer and perhaps, for the musically inclined, have your own little acoustic show in the woods of the southwestern border.

A highlight feature of the festival, for many, is the BYOB policy, as guests can bring up to two cases of beer, one bottle, and two boxes of wine. Repeat, per person. A big music happening, loaded with day-drinkers, bbq grillers and Frisbee golf disc-throwers.

With a killer line-up musically, one can expect travelers from the region, to not only be surrounded by beautiful scenery, but also experience a heavy dose of what Kentuckians are … all … about. A Kentucky showcase; so may Kentuckians show out-of-towners not only how to have a good time, but how passionate we are about the bands that have changed our lives.

Here are some of the bands readers can expect to hear more from on Monday, as this fortunate writer will be heading down to capture the scene and talk with many of the bands and fans that will make the event shine.

The Kingston Spurs

Morning Teleportation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHXRetkFpEA

Cage the Elephant (Bowling Green’s biggest band)

Manchester Orchestra, Moon Taxi, Mimosa, Sleeper Agent, Justin Townes Earl, The Whigs, Jeff the Brotherhood, Space Capone and many more.

If you want a great, late and cheap festival experience, if you want to take the family camping, and grill out to some live music, if you have never been to Bowling Green, and want to see what it’s all about… then come one, come all, to the Bowling Green area, because everyone is invited to this farm party; just bring fifty bucks and some supplies, and then you can keep it loose!

• Faces at the Palace with DJ Matt Anthony, the Tunesmiths and She Might Bite, Fri., Sept. 28.

She Might Bite has some serious odds of being the next big thing out of Louisville. The band has a new line-up, and a killer first performance together this weekend as Faces at the Palace premieres! With good leadership and killer songwriting via Tara Kimes, and the newly added Cheyenne Marie Mize, She Might Bite will surely not disappoint this crowd.

This is the launch party for a promised to be monthly event. With local DJ Matt Anthony hosting and set to DJ the after-concert dance party. Local blues-soul rockers, the Tunesmiths, headline the event.

But after hearing and seeing She Might Bite, wo-ah! The band is a combination of many things, a blend of folk-punk-rock just touches the surface of the band’s sound. The guitar is typically distorted and washed with garage-like reverb, but there are moments of pure punk guitar, and with killer harmonies, catchy hooks and well thought-out, and yet sometimes very tongue and cheekish lyrics. If you didn’t know, the vocals are backed by some of the rawest sounding bass accompanied by a driving beat. Listeners become stuck in the world of hard not to like, and it feels good.

Check out the almost Otis Taylor-like guitar work on the electric folk sensation of Let Me Down, and the super catchy Slipped Into Your Shell for free on their website here.

With the addition of Cheyenne, both parties must realize the potential of this band. They represent, maybe the cream of the crop, of many talented new bands that are starting to emerge from the scene. It is only a short matter of time before She Might Bite the band like Murals, Wax Fang, Houndmouth and more have done, and that is showing the rest of the country what Louisville music is all about.

We hope this is the start of something really cool, but Louisville is always full of surprises.

Go if you are in town, no ifs ands or buts about it. Pity the lethargic; love the dancer.

Doors open at 8 p.m. The Louisville Palace Theater is on Fourth Street just north of Theater Square and The Brown Hotel.