Saturday's River City Music Revival was a bonding experience for local musicians.
Nine local bands performed over a 10-hour period during the first River City Music Revival at Capital Bluffs Event Center, at 1616 Oil Well Road.
The performing bands were The Cherry Pistols, Rose Ridge, SoulRoot, Shea and Shorty, Dope Ass Sneakers, ChillBone, The Usual Suspects, Burnin' Down the House and Point 08.
Kyle Caraway, guitarist and vocalist for The Usual Suspects, said the event was a way for local musicians to support each other.
"It's one thing to have the support of the general public at a show," he said. "But when you have a fellow musician out there that's supporting you and applauding and appreciating what you do, it really makes you feel a little bit better about your craft and what you do."
Musicians could even learn from each other and pick up some tricks, Caraway added.
The event also allowed musicians to visit with other local performers.
Standing in a semi-circle facing the stage, Ron Schieferdecker, Lane Phillips and Mike Vizcarra chatted with each other while watching Rose Ridge perform. All three are from different bands - Schieferdecker with SoulRoot, Phillips with ChillBone and Vizcarra with The Usual Suspects.
The three musicians said they hardly watch each other perform because of their bands' schedules.
"I think everybody in the music community is excited about this because we all do this and we all stay so busy that we hardly get to see other people perform," Schieferdecker said. "We feel in love with music and love performing, so it's really cool to do this."
Doyle Kempker, owner of Quality Sound Solutions, was one of the masterminds behind River City Music Revival. He said he wanted to create an event that gave back to local bands and showed his appreciation to his customers.
The event's main goal was bringing musicians together and strengthening the music community's bond, Kempker and Carraway added.
"(Kempker) labored over what to call the event, and he decided on revival because it seems like more of a fellowship or brotherhood sort of atmosphere," Caraway said. "That's what going on today. We're just going to hang out, make some awesome music and the public gets to reap the benefit of hanging out with us."
Organizers sold about 400 pre-sale tickets, Caraway said, and people were still purchasing tickets at the door the day of the event.
All proceeds from the event will be split up among the nine performing bands, Kempker added.
It's not every day the public can watch over half-a-dozen local bands perform under one roof.
"They usually play shows where it's just them all night," said Byron Neighbors, owner of Byron Amplifications and a volunteer at River City Music Revival. "You don't get to see all of them play together ever so that's the most special thing about this. It's an opportunity to see the Cherry Pistols and Rose Ridge and Soul Root and The Usual Suspects all in the same night, which never happens."
It was fate how the event came to fruition. Capital Bluffs co-owner Danny Baumgartner said he wanted to do a similar event for years but wasn't sure how to get all of the bands in one location. That's where Kempker came in.
Kempker approached Baumgartner with the idea and soon had a dozen bands interested in participating. Due to the schedule, not all interested bands could perform, according to the event's Facebook page.
Along with Capital Bluffs, The Mission supported the concert, closing its doors Saturday to help the River City Music Revival. JQ's on High also brought its food truck to the event.
This article was edited at 11:15 a.m. Feb. 24, 2020, to correct the spelling of Danny Baumgartner's name.