_{By Joe Metro}

ALL SAINTS, a music festival conceived by The Toaster Oven, Happy Valley Rockers, and many others, is taking place on Saturday, November 1st in Beautiful Downtown Provo. This festival offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some of your favorite bands after a night of reverie, allowing you to keep the party going and perfectly adding onto any Halloween plans. 

Catch 40 local bands, shop local, and celebrate sainthood this Saturday across seven downtown Provo venues. ALL SAINTS Fest fills the void of an end-of-year music fest left by Buzzards and Bees’ hiatus.

“Our intention with ALL SAINTS is to co-create an uplifting environment for communal celebration and expression,” the event organizers said in a statement to Provo Music Magazine. “We want to bring the music community together by spotlighting local artists from all different genres and bringing people into local businesses. We were heavily inspired by Buzzards and Bees, which has been such a boon to the community and didn’t happen this year.”

It is great to see the community come together and build something new. I applaud the effort taken by the organizers to ensure Provo keeps rockin’. 

When I asked my roommate about the significance of All Saints Day, Mr. Middleschool History Teacher (who went to a Catholic private school) informed me that it is the day to honor all the saints in heaven, both known and unknown. In true history teacher fashion, he informed me that his favorite saint is St. Barbara, who is the patron saint of artillerymen. As he continued about why she is the patron saint of artillerymen (her pagan father was struck and killed by lightning in divine retribution for executing her for her faith in Christianity and now she’s recognized as the patron saint against sudden death), I began reviewing the lineup for the festival. 

ALL SAINTS Fest is aptly named, not only because of the day on which it takes place, but also due to the sheer number of performers whom I am unfamiliar with – thus aiding in the celebration of saints (or in this case bands) known and unknown.

“Most of our vision is the same as Buzzards: gather the community, give artists a stage, and be inclusive,” the organizers said. “Seeing so many people excited about it already shows us how much fans and artists want something like this. The Provo music scene is its own unique blend of multi-genre bands and is constantly changing. We’re hoping this festival lets people experience the breadth of artistry happening in our neighborhood.”

ALL SAINTS is not only looking to provide a platform for local artists – they’re also innovating on the festival business model. “One thing we’re doing to help artists is paying them all an equal share of the profits,” they organizers said. “We value each of these artists equally, and we’re all in this together. We have kept overhead low and been fortunate to have venues open up spaces for stages, so know that when you buy a wristband, most of that money is going right to the musicians.”

We have such a great opportunity to honor beautiful Downtown Provo by patronizing locally owned shops and listening to local bands.

So let me ask you: Do you like music? Do you like religion? Do you like music that isn’t inherently religious, but is performed in a very religious town during an inherently religiously named music festival? If you answered yes and/or no to any or all of these questions, then boy oh boy, grab your rosary, light a votive candle for your favorite saint, and go rock out at ALL SAINTS Fest this Saturday!

Make sure to follow ALL SAINTS on Instagram for news and artist spotlights. You can purchase discounted tickets at ThiftRx!