The Arrow Bar in downtown Texarkana hosts a rarity on Saturday: an all-day festival with 10 local and regional acts rocking the iconic bar with original music.
The Arrow Fest runs from noon to 2 a.m. with a packed lineup of indie acts that include everything from alt country to metal and singer-songwriter tunes. Participating bands are Sylo, Merrows, Old Flames, The Devil Anse, Deer Darla, Narrow Dinero, Good Spirits, Tap Dead Sinner, Man Verses Chorus and Joe Kennedy.
Organizers Darin Lavender, Joey Mills and Jason Sharp promise good music throughout the day with bands that come from Texarkana, Shreveport and Little Rock.
Mills explains that he and Lavender decided early in the year they'd like to hold a festival in Texarkana because there are enough bands to do it. "To at least have an all-day thing," he said. "We just kind of started from there and then it kind of picked up."
The Arrow became a natural fit for the venue because of their support for local live music. Many of the bands have played the Arrow, too, since it became a second home for homegrown, indie, original live music after The Silver Dollar closed.
"They cater to the music scene," Sharp said.
The type of music on tap for Arrow Fest is eclectic. There's the emo acoustic singer-songwriter in Kennedy, also known as Papago Joe. Sharp and Mills describe Man Verses Chorus as folkish dark country with just a guitar and bass. Tap Dead Sinner, who hail from Shreveport, is a metal band fronted by a female vocalist. "They're pretty heavy but also kind of melodic," Sharp said.
Good Spirits describe themselves as an "indie space rock band" on the band's Facebook page. "They're kind of like a modern Built to Spill," Lavender said. Narrow Dinero? "Kind of '90s alternative pop punk, I guess," Mills said. They used to be known as The Guilty. Then there's Deer Darla, newcomers to the Texarkana scene but with an engaging alternative grunge sound. Bass player Ashleee Moorhead wears a bunny suit on stage.
The Devil Anse, doubtlessly one of the region's finest acts, sport an alt-country punk sound, while Old Flames have an alternative, punk, melodic rock vibe to them. Lavender, an Old Flames member, describes them as like the Foo Fighters with an edge. The Merrows? Punk as can be. They put the punk in punk rock and their shows are full of energy. They've been recording music lately, too. And in Sylo, Arrow Fest ends the night with this hardworking metal act from right here in Texarkana.
"They're a Texarkana staple. They've been at this for so long," Lavender said. It's his band's first time playing with them, so he's excited.
Arrow Fest is a good chance to spend the day at The Arrow and see bands you might not ordinarily get to see live. "All of these bands are going to be good performances," Mills said.
Bands will play sets about 45 minutes long. The last band should go on at midnight and live music will likely start around 3 p.m.
"It's going to go well, it's going to be fun," Lavender said.
This type of festival doesn't happen often here. Mills remembers an all-day music fest at Darkslide skate park to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims via the Red Cross, but that was about 13 years ago. But with so many good bands here and Texarkana in the middle of other cities, why not have a music festival here, Mills said.
If all goes well, the team that put this festival together would like it to continue, perhaps annually or every six months-perhaps with a semi-national act, Mills said.
(Admission: $10. Free food and door prizes until 3 p.m; street taco vendor and drink specials. The Arrow Bar is located at 112 E. 5th St. More info: Check out the Arrow Fest event page on Facebook.)