April 23rd, 2020
On April 21st, 2020, friend of Muncie MusicFest Steve Robert passed away from a brain tumor.
Steve was an integral part of the festival, serving most visibly as a performer with his acclaimed band
Steve Robert and the Jazzmanian Devils, but also as a key sound engineer helping us work that Muncie magic and do so much with so little, as
well as the warm, positive presence in our management team who was always present to lend a hand, offer
guidance, and keep us from using the many stresses of running complex community events as an excuse to turn
negative and cynical. No matter how difficult our jobs were, and no matter how much the odds were stacked
against us, Steve helped keep us focused, determined, and most importantly, smiling through it all.
As anyone who knew Steve can corroborate, he had a simple mission in life of spreading peace and happiness,
and seeing the actual success that he had in this mission, either through his community work or just through
the peace spread through the personal warmth that he shared with others, had a profoundly humbling effect on
anyone who had the good fortune of spending time with him. Steve will be dearly missed, but at the same
time, our community will forever carry with it echoes of what he spent his life giving us with his hard
work, his community advocacy, his music, his politics, his philosophy, and his friendship.
Shortly after his diagnosis, Steve recorded a short cover of a song that had been on his mind at the time.
A Look Back at MMF 2016
September 10th, 2017
While you're waiting for the next Muncie MusicFest, enjoy this look back at last year's festival.
Cornerstone Center for the Arts Now Managing MMF
February 16th, 2017
The Muncie MusicFest team is happy to announce that
Cornerstone Center for the Arts has taken over the festival's
management and will be overseeing its eleventh year and beyond. We hope you're as excited to see this
event continue to grow and develop under Cornerstone's leadership as we are. For more information, contact
Cornerstone Director of Community Relations Jeff Robinson at
jrobinson@cornerstonearts.org.
Muncie MusicFest 2016
October 1st, 2016
Like the very first Muncie MusicFest back in 2007, last night's festival was accompanied by an unexpected
downpour of rain. And just like that first night, Munsonians came out despite the weather, showed their
support, and were rewarded with a fantastic time. On behalf of the 130 musicians, 45 staff members, dozen
organizations, and six
venues who created the tenth annual Muncie MusicFest, thank you for your attendance, your support, your
kind words, and the part you play in this beautiful community.
I'm going to steal some of my own words from last year on this subject, because it's as true today as it
was then: It would take all day to list everybody who deserves credit and explain how awesome they were at
their jobs, big or small, but suffice it to say that Muncie MusicFest 2016 was a giant demonstration that
grassroots, independent volunteer efforts can create great things and truly grow our community. I hope that
this year's success will inspire people to contribute some of their time and energy to helping their local
arts and entertainment scene by volunteering to help run upcoming events, by supporting existing community
projects, or by creating brand new ways to make the world a little bit better, easier, more connected, more
beautiful, and more full of music.
Interested in being part of Muncie MusicFest 2017? Keep an eye on this website and
facebook.com/munciemusicfest for more announcements.
Graham Watson
Muncie MusicFest Torchbearer 2007-2016
Muncie MusicFest 2016 is Today!
September 30th, 2016
Today's the big day! Here's a handy list of what you need to do to have the best Em Em Eff experience:
August 29th, 2016
We're almost finished booking this year's festival, but we're too antsy to wait any longer to announce what
we have so far. Check out
the 2016 lineup to see what bands you'll be able to see for free on September 30th at our seven
festival locations.
The 2016 schedule is also available so you can start planning your concert itinerary now.
Our lineup features rock, metal, indie, country, americana, blues, folk, electronic, and hip-hop, and even
ventures out into such diverse musical territories as chamber-folk, jungle, chiptune, and psychobilly.
We have new, up-and-coming bands as well as established Muncie favorites. We have touring bands that have
made an impact on the Muncie music community in the past. You'll find music to bring your grandparents to
see and music that will give children nightmares. You'll find stages where you'll be invited to sit and
relax, and you'll find energetic dancefloors to join.
On behalf of all of the Muncie MusicFest bands and the festival planning crew, we hope that you'll join us
on September 30th to help celebrate all that the Muncie music community is in 2016.
Booking Underway, Volunteer Signup Now Open
August 8th, 2016
The band application deadline has ended, and we're now hard at work getting confirmations from bands
so we can announce an official lineup. 90 bands have applied to perform and we only have
room to book 40 to 50 of them, so we're putting a lot of effort into getting a good, representative mix of
both well-known and up-and-coming bands, bands from Muncie and out-of-town bands that have a following in
Muncie, bands for the younger crowd and older folks, and bands from every major genre. Sadly, we can't book
all of the bands that we want to (and saying no to half of the applicants is heartbreaking), but we have a
preliminary lineup that we think everyone will really enjoy, which includes rock, metal, indie, country,
americana, blues, folk, electronic, and hip-hop.
So hang tight, and expect announcements about this year's lineup soon.
March 30th, 2016
Want to perform at Muncie MusicFest?
Submit an application so we know you're interested and so we have
all of the information we need in order to book you.
We'll end the application period and start booking bands
on August 1st, so make sure your application
is in before then!
Muncie MusicFest 2016: Ten Years of Music
March 22nd, 2016
MMF'16 is currently scheduled for Friday, September 30th, 2016
(subject to change while we're lining up our waterfowl).
Stay tuned to MuncieMusicFest.com and the festival's
Facebook page
for announcements about MMF 2016. This will be the tenth year of the festival, and
we'd like to celebrate that milestone with the biggest, best one yet!
