Article and Photos by: Casey Steinmiller
Featured Image: A Cold Trip Nowhere
Weir, Kansas is not a place most people have heard of. A small town, it recently made some noise with the 3rd annual Weir ‘Merica Music Festival, a free event that turned heads and brought in an attendance much higher than the town’s charming population of 600.
On July 11th, Weir ‘Merica Music Festival hosted over 25 bands on three different stages and even had to turn some away. The music genres ranged from country to punk rock and everything in between. Bands traveled several hours from Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma to perform here. For the Wolf!, an alternative punk band, traveled from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Others such as The Philistines, an Interstellar Psychedelic Rock ‘n Roll group from Kansas City played as well. One of the original bands from the 1st Weir ‘Merica is the Sextonic Plates, a local band that helped get the festival started back in 2013. Based out of Pittsburg, Kansas, the Sextonic Plates drew a in a large crowd, playing several of their hits including “Gravedigger” and “Rubber Lips.” They closed the show with a strong set that ran straight till midnight.
Weir ‘Merica started out of a garage three years ago. Ryan O’Toole, a co-founder of Weir America and member of the Sextonic Plates states, “This started like any little kid who would imagine building a fort, playing house, making up role playing games, or what have you.” He continues, “I’d like to have a national act eventually. We’re taking it on the road to different southeast Kansas towns. Like a traveling show. I want to share the idea with other small towns around. Maybe it will inspire someone else to start their own event.”
These kinds of music festivals are the kind of spark needed to bring in bigger and better musical scenes to small towns like Weir, Kansas. It seems that most involved with the ‘Merica Music Festival never expected it to be so big, but its organizers continue to look forward, and hope Weir’s music scene will continue to grow bigger each year.