Live music, art and alcohol will combine to celebrate the North Gate area this weekend for the Ivanstock Music Festival.
Held Saturday on Ivanhoe Street, this is the second year the festival has been produced, and organizers hope Ivanstock II will be even bigger and better than before, according to Richard Carman, publicity manager for Ivanstock and mass communication graduate student.
The festival will host three live acts — Guitar Lightnin’ Lee, a New Orleans-based blues-rock artist; funk fusion group Gravity A and, tentatively, electronica duo P.Y.M.P. are all scheduled to perform, Carman said.
Organizers have worked to improve the structure from last year’s festival. Carman said they have filed street-closure and alcohol permits, and the Baton Rouge Police Department will be on call to provide security.
“Many people were disappointed when Ivanstock was shut down last year,” Carman said. “So this year we worked to make it bigger and better.”
Carman said he expects about 800 people to attend the festival this year, almost double the turnout from last year.
Ivanstock has also worked to expand the type of art displayed at the festival.
Jay Michael, who creates posters for bands and venues like the Varsity Theatre and Chelsea’s Cafe, will display chalk art at the show, Carman said.
“We want to expand the scope of the festival beyond a concert,” Carman said.
For a $10 admission fee, gumbo will also be available along with a “bottomless cup of beer” with a valid ID, Carman said.
“The festival is unique because it is entirely independently produced. It’s not sponsored by any company,” he said.
Ivanstock is also an important event because it celebrates the North Gate area, Carman said.
“It’s a celebration of bands and art but also of a community, not just an apartment complex,” Carman said.
Ivanstock began in 2007 as an annual party thrown by a group of Carman’s friends each spring. The parties grew in popularity and they decided to incorporate bands to make the celebration even greater, Carman said.
Carman said Ivanstock will take place rain or shine and that costumes — a tradition from the original parties — are encouraged but never required.
 
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Contact Grace Montgomery at [email protected]