Midtown Alley Street Fest hits Locust Street

Jason Gonulsen
Special to Metromix

On Saturday, a stretch of Locust Street (between Compton and Theresa—here's a map) will turn into a food, art, beer and music haven—one that's being dubbed the Midtown Alley Street Fest. It's in its third year now, and the 2011 music lineup is stellar, with David Beeman of the superb local band Old Lights kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. The full schedule can be found below, so get your day planned early!

Closing out the night at 10:15 p.m. will be one of my favorite local acts, a three-piece rock band called The Blind Eyes. Seth Porter, Matt Picker and Kevin Schneider released a new album this past June called 'With a Bang,' and it's one of those albums good for repeated listens. Songs like "Hermetically Sealed," "Into the Breach," "The Nature of the Beast" and the title track offer what The Blind Eyes do best—their sound is raw and rockin', and even a little poppy at times. It's one of my favorite local releases of 2011, along with Old Lights' 'Like Strangers' and Union Tree Review's 'Death and Other Forms of Relaxation.'

The music is free at Midtown Alley Street Fest, so all you have to do is show up, and maybe have a stroll through the new beer garden they are featuring this year. Here's the full music lineup for the fest:

10:00-11:00 a.m. David Beeman (of Old Lights)

11:00-12:00 a.m. Derrick Streibig (of We Are Warm)

12:00-1:30 p.m. Kim Massie

1:50-3:20 p.m. Stickley & Canan

3:40-4:50 p.m. Animal Empty

5:10-5:55 p.m. Née

6:15-7:00 p.m. Union Tree Review

7:20-8:05 p.m. Pretty Little Empire

8:25pm-9:55 p.m. Murder City Players

10:15-11:00 p.m. The Blind Eyes