Rocheport's Biscuits, Beats and Brews fest moving up date to fill Treeline 'void'

Aarik Danielsen, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
Western States
Western States

Music lovers with the word "festival" scrawled, digitally or in ink, across their calendars the weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 now have another option.

The annual Biscuits, Beats and Brews festival, presented by Ozark Mountain Biscuit and Bar and held in Rocheport, moved up its date to "fill the void" left when Treeline Music Fest announced the cancellation of its 2023 edition, it noted in a Facebook post.

Biscuits, Beats and Brews was set for Oct. 6-8, but now will occur the weekend before. The festival is a free event.

Organizers wanted to provide a "soft landing spot for a lot of people," including attendees and artists, festival director Colin LaVaute said Friday.

Treeline cited significant expenses upon its cancellation announcement Thursday.

The Biscuits, Beats and Brews lineup, as of Friday morning, features MK Ultra — a duo comprised of beloved Missouri musicians Pat Kay and Ben Miller; The Urge frontman Steve Ewing; Treeline 2023 bands Western States and The January Lanterns; and a number of strong local acts, including Noah Earle, Violet and the Undercurrents, Meredith Shaw, Decadent Nation and Travis Feutz and the Stardust Cowboys.

A number of those acts have played the festival formerly known as Roots N Blues. Ozark Mountain Biscuit owner Bryan Maness plays bass for Western States, and LaVaute leads Decadent Nation.

As of Friday morning, LaVaute was actively reaching out to national and local artists from the Treeline bill to see about keeping their travel plans and possibly appearing at the festival. More artist announcements are expected, he said.

LaVaute, who also co-organizes Treeline's Betsy Farris Memorial Run, a race named for the late festival director, said the run will continue at the same time — Sept. 30 — and same place, but will now receive a "biscuit-y twist." Runners will receive an Ozark Mountain biscuit as well as a Dive Bar breakfast burrito at the finish. The race has 5K, 10K and half-marathon options.

Potential festivalgoers can keep up with Biscuits, Beats and Brews announcements via the Ozark Mountain Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OzarkBiscuits.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Biscuits, Beats and Brews fest moving up date after Treeline canceled