Non-stop music will fill the street outside Burlington’s Capitol Theater on Saturday, Aug. 8 for the Old Couch Music Festival.
“It’s just a fun, music-focused event. We would welcome the folks from the tri states area to come to Burlington on the eighth and have a fun time,” said Jeff Poulter, Executive Director of the Capitol Theater at 211 N. Third St.
The music begins at 6 p.m. on the main stage on the street. The featured acts are Eric Petit Lion, The Analog Saints, and David Kroll & Heartland.
In addition, the festival has a second stage under the Capitol’s marquee. The Sprucells, a classic rock band from western Illinois, will play on that stage between sets on the main stage.
“There’s something for everybody’s taste,” Poulter said.
He said the festival is a family-friendly event, and this year they’ve added Old Couch Family Time in the Capitol Theater, featuring face painting along with a free screening of the 2016 animated film Sing.
The face painting begins at 2 p.m. and the movie begins at 3 p.m.
The grounds will open for the music festival at 5 p.m.
There will also be food vendors.
Poulter said the event will be held, rain or shine.
He said the festival’s name was inspired by a large and heavy old couch that was in the theater’s green room. As organizers tried to come up with a way to brand the music festival, someone suggested putting the couch in front of the theater for the event.
“And all of a sudden, the Old Couch Music Festival was born,” he said.
They initially encouraged people to bring their own couches to the festival, and while they still welcome couches, there is a caveat.
“We do say nowadays, if you bring a couch, take a couch. I made several trips the first few years and took several days to get rid of the couches in the street. That’s extra work that we prefer not to do,” he said.
“But if you bring a couch, we’ll find a home for it. But nice, comfortable lawn chairs work too.”
The festival was first held in 2017. They took a year off because of the pandemic in 2020.
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