Last Saturday the Fruited Plain in Sioux Center, Iowa hosted Pork N’ Bands, a local music festival. The Fruited Plain is no stranger to music events and has previously hosted seven Pork N’ Bands festivals, not to mention numerous other musical events. The Fruited Plain is uniquely set up to accommodate music with a backroom stage nicknamed “The Back Back.” The venue line up consisted of several local bands and artists including The Ruralists, Christian Lief, The Girlists, The Nevereacher, Karata Macchiato, Sunglass and many more.
I had the privilege of talking with Garth, the lead singer and guitarist for the band The Nevereacher, about this year’s Pork N’ Bands event. Garth is a veteran of Pork N’ Bands having played at two previous events, but this was his band’s first time back in a while. The Nevereachers are a band with members spanning from Orange City to Sioux falls and they specialize in bringing an indie alternative sound to the scene. Although satisfied with their performance, Garth told me the real star of the show was the Ruralists, saying “The Ruralist performance had a really good set, and I have seen them dozens of times. This was the best I’ve ever seen them”. “They get people dancing and moving in ways that cross generations, you have kids dancing out there with older folks”. Though the event has happened many times in the past, this was a unique performance because all the groups were local to the area. If you are looking to check out music from The Nevereachers Garth recommends you listen to their album, Are We Going to Make it, and their single Oh, Well.
On top of serving great food and playing good music, “Pork ‘N’ Bands” helps introduce people to artists in their towns and communities. Garth himself worked on the sound for several other sets as well as playing in his own band. The support they give to each other is genuinely encouraging. Showing support and giving an audience to local artists is something we can all admire, so if you are someone looking to get your music heard this might be something you want to keep your eye on for the future. The music lasted eight and a half hours, which were filled with skillful performances and lots of pork throughout. All of the food was made and provided by members of Covenant Christ Reformed Church. Many of the church members made their own smoked pork and brought it to the event for everyone to enjoy pulled pork sandwiches. The event was put on in partnership with the church with the goal of helping fund their Christian education program.
This event is truly special to people and if you feel inspired and want to perform or just listen I encourage you to keep an eye out for the next event. As Garth put it “The people that came were coming to see their friends. And it is so nice to see how special and talented our local music scene is”.
Although nothing is lined up presently, Garth said The Nevereachers are always looking for new performers and potential events for the Back Back. For the future, you can keep an eye on the social media pages for The Back Back and The Fruited Plain on both Facebook and Instagram. Fear not, there will be much more to look forward to.
