JULY 8, 2021 – WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita Festivals, Inc., along with its media partners, today announced Riverfest 2021’s concert headliners and a new venue partner for the festival. Admission to concerts at both Riverfest venues Sept. 30-Oct. 3 is included in the price of an adult or child admission button.
“The Acura Stage on Kennedy Plaza is a terrific large-scale venue that has hosted some amazing headliners over the years,” said Ann Keefer, interim president/CEO of WFI, producers of Riverfest and other major community events for nearly 50 years. “Adding a second stage to expand our music options has gone over well with our attendees, so I am excited to announce that we will partner with WAVE as our second concert venue for Riverfest 2021. Working with this unique venue makes hosting a second stage fiscally more efficient for us, which is always on our minds as a not-for-profit organization. Plus, it’s a great environment for a big community party!”
Concerts are scheduled for all four nights of the fall portion of Riverfest 2021 – Sept. 30-Oct. 3 – at both the Acura Stage at Kennedy Plaza, on the north side of Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, 225 W. Douglas Ave, and WAVE, 650 E. 2nd Street. The line-ups were released on Riverfest’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts starting at noon.
On opening day, Sept. 30, Spirit AeroSystems will present Flatland Cavalry with their special blend of country, folk and Americana on the Acura Stage. This six-piece brings modern energy and old school heart straight from Lubbock, Texas with a sweet, driving fiddle edge. A Salute to Military will kick off the evening, as the Goodwill Cajun Food Fest takes place on Kennedy Plaza. KFDI is the media partner for this show. At WAVE, popular alternative act Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness will top the bill. Alt 107.3 will host this concert.
Big Boi, the rapper, songwriter, actor, record producer and founding member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast, is the headliner of Friday, Oct. 1st’s concert on the Acura Stage at Kennedy Plaza. New Orleans-based Tank and the Bangas will open with a lively fusion of funk, soul, hip hop, rock, and spoken word. Local favorites Rudy Love, Jr. and Keo & Them are also on the roster, as well as Wichita performer Le Khoa, winner of the Ad Astra Song Competition People’s Choice award, who will perform their song, “What Have We Done to Our World?” The event is hosted by Channel 963. The concert follows the Safelite AutoGlass® Sundown Parade, which begins at 6 p.m. Southern-fried rocking country act The Steel Woods will play the WAVE stage with fresh country/folk artist Anna Vaus opening. KWLS will host.
On Saturday, Oct. 2, Fidelity Bank presents Los Angeles neo pop and indie soul favorites, Fitz and the Tantrums. Their hit, “HandClap” is a classic heard not just on radios and at parties, but at sporting events around the world, and all of their releases have been met with critical acclaim. The soul rock sound of The Seratones will put the crowd in the mood, along with other warm-up acts Wildermiss, Fox Royale, and Yasmin Nur. The show is hosted by media partners The Buzz, KEYN and POWER 93.5. Fiesta del Rio, featuring San Luisto Norte and Los 2 Del La S, will have festival goers dancing at WAVE to this high-energy show co-sponsored by Radio Lobo. The Capitol Federal Fireworks will close the night with a bang following the concerts with the fireworks soundtrack broadcast live on FM 103.7 KEYN.
Sunday, Oct. 3 at Kennedy Plaza, River Blues returns with artists including Kansas City’s Katy Guillen and the Drive, and Wichita’s own Dustin Arbuckle, performing with Matt Woods, a duo that was nominated for Best Acoustic Blues Album at both the 2021 Blues Music Awards and the Blues Magazine Awards for their self-titled album. Dustin and the Hay-Nations, a supergroup comprised of Haymakers and Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations will close the festival with Americana and roots-rock. The Wichita Blues Society will kick off the day with a special guest, to be announced. A Heavy Metal Meltdown will take place Sunday at WAVE, featuring some of the regions loudest hard rock acts: Bummer, Not Cops, Sutphin, Concubine, and Virgins. T95 will play host to the soiree.
The Quantum Credit Union Food Court Stage will be hopping all four days of the festival with local talent that includes karaoke with Wichita-based national singing sensation Injoy Fountain and appearances by Chad Boney, Jesse Smith’s Advanced Guitar Class and Matt Isley & Dangerously Biased performing the songs that won them top honors in the Ad Astra Song Competition, sponsored by WFI and Kansas Leadership Center as part of their #KSBeatstheVirus initiative.
Admission to all Riverfest concerts at both venues is free with a Riverfest button. Adult buttons are $10, and children’s buttons (available while supplies last for kids ages 6-12) are $5. Purchase buttons at QuikTrip locations beginning Sept. 6. VIP ticket buyers can pick one up at WAVE.
A variety of VIP opportunities will be available for the following shows: Flatland Cavalry, Big Boi, and Fitz and the Tantrums at the Acura Stage at Kennedy Plaza; and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, The Steel Woods, Fiesta Del Rio and Heavy Metal Meltdown at WAVE. All VIP tickets are available 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at the WAVE box office, 650 E. 2nd Street, or online at WAVEICT.com.
Media partners for Riverfest 2021 include 104.5 The Fox, Active Age, Alt 107.3, B98FM, The Bull, The Buzz, Channel 963, The Community Voice, East Wichita News/West Side Story, Intake Studios, KAKE, KCTU, KEYN, KFDI, KGSO, KMUW, KNSS, KQAM, KSN, KWCH, KWLS, Lamar Outdoor, POWER 93.5, Radio Lobo, and T95.
Riverfest 2021 Official Sponsors include: Bud Light, Decker Electric, Metro Courier, Spot’s Party Bus, Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, Spectrum Promotional, Sure Sound & Lighting and Official Marketing Partner Visit Wichita.
About Wichita Festivals, Inc.: Wichita Festivals, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation with the purpose of creating diverse and inclusive community celebrations for Wichitans and their friends. The primary events produced by WFI are Riverfest (June 4-6, and Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2021), Wichita Festivals Golf Tournament in Memory of Bob Struble (September 10, 2021) and Autumn & Art at Bradley Fair (September 17-19, 2021). For more information about Wichita Festivals, Inc. or its events, contact Teri Mott at (316) 267-2817 or teri@wichitafestivals.com.
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