ST. LOUIS — The inaugural Evolution Festival in Forest Park drew in thousands of people for a two-day event.
The festival had a wide variety of artists in several different music genres bringing a diverse fan base. The Black Keys, Brandi Carlile and Ice Cube were just a few that made the weekend special.
“The different types of music that they have here is bringing out a whole this big group of diverse people, and I'm loving the outfits and the hairstyles. It's great. I love it,” festivalgoer Chi Chi McDonald said.
It is one of the first major music festivals in the city since Lou Fest called it quits in 2018 bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“I got 600 people working here. Besides that, we have employment taxes, we have sales taxes. We'll do seven figures in concession sales. Seven figures in ticket sales. So just the taxes alone for the state and the city are great,” Evolution Festival Co-Producer Steve Schankman said.
Festivalgoers say they loved all of the local restaurants and bars with booths at the event allowing them to support their own community.
“I've actually never been to anything quite like this in St. Louis before, so it's really been a lot of fun. The variety of the acts, the entertainment, the food, the drinks, everything … It's been amazing,” festivalgoer Sara Hamilton said.
Schankman said he hopes to bring this festival back year after year.
Greater Saint Louis did a survey, the people said we need a festival. Tishaura Jones, the mayor of St. Louis, said this is a gift to St. Louis. Greater Saint Louis said it's a way to put cultures together for a great time,” Schankman said.
McDonald said this is really what St. Louis needed.
“We needed this because we're so used to like stuff happening and violence and stuff. Everybody is happy getting along. It’s amazing,” McDonald said.
People in attendance definitely wanted to see it come back.
“I would absolutely come back year after year. It really has been a really good event and I can't wait. I hope they do it again next year,” Hamilton said.
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