This Thursday marks the launch of Dunedin Brewery’s annual event to launch its fall seasonal beer selection. Octobeerfest 2013 is a street party and music festival that finds the Dunedin mainstay closing down Douglas Avenue on Friday and Saturday, setting up an outdoor stage, and cracking open a dozen or so one-off kegs along with limited edition and unique brews made specifically for the occasion, including this year’s Oktoberfest Lager, Nitro Pumpkin, Vanilla Bean Oktobeerfest and Classic Cranberry IPA. A dozen or so acts perform over the four days, with those hitting town on Friday and Saturday playing twice, once by day on the outdoor stage, then again after dark, inside the Brewery.
Among the highlights are Lafayette, La.’s Vagabond Swing, a high-spirited outfit that plays a grimy, warped, under-the-big-top mix of gypsy folk, bluegrass, ska-punk and swing. (A Vagabond Swing Dark Pale Ale will be offered during Octobeerfest). Also noteworthy: Greensboro, N.C. sextet The Mantras, offering up jamtronica prog rock with elements of percussive-fused reggae, jazz, Southern rock and blues; Asheville-by-way-of-Jacksonville outfit The Fritz, which delivers a potent blend of rock, electro-psychedelia and funk; and a Between Bluffs String Jam that finds the Americana pop-grass outfit jamming with some special guest musician friends on Saturday afternoon.
Details: Octobeerfest 2013, Oct. 3-6, 7 p.m. Thurs., 11 a.m. street party, 8 p.m. music Fri.-Sat., and 6 p.m. Sun.: Vagabond Swing with Big Daddy Love (Thursday), The Fritz with Fusik (Friday), Lingo with The Mantras (Saturday), and The Heavy Pets with One Sun (Sunday), Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin.
This article appears in Oct 3-9, 2013.