Knobby Knees Musicfest 2023 on tap for Saturday in downtown Albany

ALBANY — For the eighth time the Flint Riverkeeper is bringing a day of music and fun to Albany, with proceeds going to fund operations of the conservation group dedicated to protecting the big stream.

The evening of music on Saturday will feature six acts and is a bargain at $20 for general admission. Last year the concert raised about $70,000 for the Riverkeeper.

Albany’s Grandville, made up of Deerfield-Windsor School graduates now attending college in Athens, will headline the fourth Knobby Knees Musicfest, with a 90-minute set ending at midnight Saturday. The music festival had other names over its first four years.

Gates will open at 4:30 p.m., and the music on the greenspace at the Flint RiverQuarium, kicks off at 5 p.m. with The Bridge Street Vibe.

“I feel great about the lineup,” Henry Jackson, the Riverkeeper’s director of outreach and development, said. “The Bridge Street Vibe played last year. I think they will really open the event with a great performance and set the stage.

“Grandville, they grew up in the area. They’re kind of the hometown heroes. They went off to Athens and hit it big. We’re just glad they’re coming home and doing the show.”

Sandwiched between the opening act and closers are Sundowner Motel, Roofdog, Albany’s Unbreakable Bloodline and Billy Allen + The Pollies.

“Sundowner has played just about every Knobby Knees, and it’s just not Knobby Knees without them,” Jackson said. “They play great music.

“Roofdog is into that legends of Macon, Georgia, vibe. Unbreakable Bloodline … there’s really no way to describe them; just full of energy and passion. It’s such a wide range of music coming from that crew. They’re a big band. They’ve always got so much energy flowing.”

The lineup includes something for everyone, and Unbreakable Bloodline’s Vernon “Chief H” Cruz will serve as MC for the entire event, Jackson said. Billie Allen + The Pollies, who hail from Muscle Shoals, Ala., will play a 75-minute set starting at 9 p.m.

“We always get lucky with two or three acts every year,” Jackson said. “Billy Allen + The Pollies are really blowing up. We’re super excited we got them. They’re full of blues and rock. Part of me can’t believe they’re coming to play.”

The low ticket prices are made possible by sponsorships from area businesses. In addition to the music, there will be vendors, food trucks and a bar on site.

For the children Flint Riverkeeper has partnered with the Artesian Alliance and the RiverQuarium’s World Oceans Day, which will run from 2 p.m.-6 p.m., with games, ocean-themed crafts and a visit from the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Fla., and its mobile touch tank featuring animals from the Gulf of Mexico. Admission to Ocean’s Day is separate from Knobby Knees.

“It’s a family event,” Jackson said. “Proceeds support our work with the Flint and for the mission. Our goal is to have an event that is reasonably priced, easy to find, easy to park at.

“We really want to bring everybody together around the river.”

A VIP package available for $150 includes indoor or outdoor seating with private bar and restrooms and a catered dinner. There are two entrances, and the address for the event is 117 Pine Ave. as a mobile mapping location point.

“We’re very pleased and grateful that Albany supports an event of this magnitude,” Gordon Rogers, riverkeeper for the organization. “It’s a little over 10% of our budget, so it’s very special for us.

“We just hope people come out and have a great time.”

File Photo: Carlton FletcherStaff Photo: Tara Fletcher