Trev Rich, Patti Fiasco to headline Cheyenne Arts Celebration

Jun. 21—CHEYENNE — It all started in the early months of the pandemic, when Mike Morris had an idea.

Why not have a live music festival at Lions Park Amphitheater? When it was safe, of course.

Morris brought the concept to his fellow board members of Arts Cheyenne, who loved the thought of creating an event where people could come together as the end of the pandemic was in sight.

That idea is coming to fruition Aug. 21 under the name of Cheyenne Arts Celebration, and on Monday, Arts Cheyenne announced the full lineup:

— Trev Rich

— Patti Fiasco

— The Grand Alliance

— TheyCallHimAP

— Bud Bronson & The Goodtimers

— Shawn Hess & The Country Skillet

— Trey Wrks

— Dez

— Onwuka

— Sunnyvale High

"We wanted a venue for artists — visual and music artists — to be able to sort of re-emerge," Morris said. "The arts are a great building block for the community, and so, to me, it's a sign of vitality for Cheyenne to have a lot of these events, but also to have them be accessible and affordable — and, in this case, free."

In addition to a whole afternoon/evening of live music, the event will feature visual artists, vendors, food trucks, beer and more.

Lions Park was chosen because several of the country's most popular music festivals take place in parks, Morris added, citing Lollapalooza as an example. He said he hopes both the accessible location and the diverse lineup — featuring everyone from indie rockers to rappers — will attract a large crowd, especially with hip-hop artist Trev Rich headlining.

"He's Grammy nominated, and it's just cool to have an artist like that headline," Morris said. "We have that sort of caliber, but it's someone right out of Denver, and hopefully that's going to bring people from Denver up."

Niki Kottmann is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's features editor. She can be reached at nkottmann@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3135. Follow her on Twitter at @niki_mariee.